Benj Liao shares a story of resilience and strong family ties with the Mitsubishi L300 FB
Whenever Benjamin “Benj” Liao, a 38-year-old Baguio-based businessman and the president of the Mitsubishi L300 Club Philippines, drives his model 1995 L300 FB, he hears what he describes a “slightly weird or crazy sound.” Rather than taking the 28-year-old diesel-powered vehicle to the shop, he lets the noise be.
Those sounds bring back memories, he says, of the times he and his dad used to travel together in that vehicle. “It feels as though my Dad is still with me.”
Benj’s dad, the late Kian Toh Liao, aka Benny Liao, was a Manila-based businessman who traded in various goods back in the ‘70s. It was Benny who bought the L300 FB from his brother at the turn of the millennium to use for his business. In 2001, he handed over its ownership to Benj and his older brother Ben. Six years later, Benny would pass away.
Today, 22 years into owning a durable hand-me-down, Benj shares that his L300 FB has run a total of 167,417 km, and counting. Apart from that weird noise— which the brothers will absolutely not fix—the vehicle still runs well.
Grinding to a halt
It wasn’t smooth sailing all the way for Benj and Ben’s business. Soon after Benny died in October 2007, the sons struggled to continue their dad’s enterprise. “We couldn’t even afford to run the L300,” Benj recalls.
In mid-2009, the brothers were able to save up enough funds to do repairs, maintenance work, and fuel up the vehicle, and start their own delivery business. They also put the vehicle up for rent.
Benj looks back on those days and recalls how important their dad’s car was to getting them back on their own feet.
“Since grade school, we have been exposed to business. I’m into computers and my brother and I are into sales and marketing. We would travel to Manila, then to Baguio. As long as we could make money legally with the L300 FB, anything went: Delivering, hauling, ‘lipat bahay.’ Then, we entered wholesale. When our business went down and slowed to a crawl, the L300 was always there. It was designed for our businesses. It’s spacious and fuel-efficient. The L300 FB is durable at its finest. When we had our Christmas outing, the L300 was loaded. We drove to Sagada. It was a walk in the park for the L300, even beyond the province’s highest point,” Benj says.
Family’s brand journey
The Liao family’s business journey has been intertwined with the Mitsubishi brand for nearly five decades.
Benj narrates that during the 1970s, when his dad’s business was growing, a friend lent him a green Mitsubishi Cimarron to use in his deliveries. Afterwards, Benny bought a white twodoor Mitsubishi Lancer L-Type. He also moved to Baguio, where he would eventually meet his wife, and where Ben and Benj would be born. Eventually, Benny would replace the L-Type with a fourdoor box-type Lancer.
Benj discloses that there were also times when his dad would go “offbrand” for personal or business use, such as when he bought a four-door Holden Torana sedan, a Toyota Crown, a Datsun pick-up, and a Ford Fiera. But in the end, Benny would still end up using the all-around MPV L300 as his goto delivery vehicle.
In 1987, the Liaos would have their first ownership experience of the L300 model when Benny bought a gasoline-powered variant with Analok enclosure. Benj says that vehicle was “pawis steering” and the dashboard was still colored brown.
The L300 suited the family’s appliance business in Baguio well, and it also reliably took the family and their employees to trips to the beach during weekends, Benj recalls. The appliance store in Baguio would eventually close, and that old L300 would be sold.
New mods, old advice
The 1995 L300, however, is still going strong with Benj. In fact, the bond between human and machine has grown stronger, as Benj has spruced up its look and feel with new alloy rims, new side mirrors, and a sound system. Benny would have liked this, Benj says, as the old man loved jamming to in-cabin music.
“I treat my trips with the L300 like it’s just me and the vehicle taking a stroll. The last piece of advice my dad gave me about owning a vehicle is to give it tender loving care and to talk to it, as it will listen and ensure your safe arrival at your destination. And yes, it’s true and proven by my own experience that it never disappoints and always brings you home safe and sound,” stresses Benj.
Benj says he gets around 9 kms/liter on city drives, and up to 12 kms/liter on highway runs. Despite its age, the L300 could still catch people’s attention when it’s clean and well-maintained, Benj explains.
“What makes the L300 stand out is that it’s reliable no matter what road it’s on—whether wet, muddy or uphill. It won’t get stuck,” Benj’s older brother Ben insists. “Most people think that the L300 is good for just one purpose. But if you’re imaginative enough, it can be used for just about anything you need.”
Ghost and the machine
Benj says, though, that what happened to him and his dad during one unforgettable trip to Calasiao, Pangasinan, was not the product of the imagination.
“We went there to meet his friends. It was already late at night when we were driving back home to Baguio. Upon entering Kennon Road, we saw a man smiling and waving at us, like he wanted us to stop and hitch a ride. We didn’t stop. I told my dad how unfortunate that he wouldn’t be able to get a ride at this late hour. A few kilometers on, we saw that man again by the side of the road, smiling and waving at us to stop. This time, however, we could see he was floating in mid-air. And he had no feet!” Benj exclaims.
Benj has no plans of selling this old L300, which has seen more than its fair share of adventures—natural and otherwise. And when the time comes that Benj’s kids would be old enough to drive on their own, he says he won’t hesitate to “hand over ownership to them.”
“I’ll even share all the stories it’s been loaded with all these decades, noises and all.”
