Quezon Motors Corporation

Quezon Motors Corporation is a Filipino automobile marque, currently headquartered in Quezon City.

The company today is known for manufacturing high performance luxury automobiles. The company was initially founded in 1959 as an assembler of Jeepneys in the former capital of the Philippines. Following a deal with automotive giant Sisten in 1969, the company gradually grew to be one of the largest within the Philippines.

In the 1980s, Quezon began experiencing economic hardships as the Philippine economy began to stagnate during the Marcos regime. Eventually the company ceased its operations in 1988 following the arrest of its former owner Felipe Quezon, economic issues and government entrance.

In 2000, the company was revived by Miguel Garcia, grandson of Ricardo Quezon, and in 2007 most of the company was sold to Filipino-Chinese businessman Alfred Ho, and the rest to the Beijing Long March Holding Group.

As of 2019, Quezon is among the largest and most influential companies in the Philippines.

## History

#### **Origins**

In 1954, after the failure of Ricardo Quezon’s restaurant business, he was looking for other business opportunities to start in.

He eventually met Leonardo Sarao, an entrepreneur who started an automotive shop, and signed a deal with him to launch an automotive plant in Quezon City to help with the assembly of Sarao jeepneys. And so in 1959, the Sarao-Quezon Automotive Plant was established, building and distributing jeepneys for Sarao Motors up until 1968.

In 1961, the Jeepney industry was booming. Income was great from the drivers who came to commission these machines. Occasionally there would be the odd request for custom-made jeepney styles, but the primitive coachbuilding style of manufacturing meant that this was all easily possible.

A year prior, Ricardo Quezon had been invited to a trip to America by a friend. This friend of his was an owner of a 1955 Silver York Convertible. Quezon frankly liked a lot about this stylish American coupe, and when he returned to the Philippines, he thought that he could actually try making one for himself seeing as he still had quite a bit of extra money he could spend and an entire factory all to himself.

In June of 1961, he and a team of a few men put together a budget of ₱3000 and began working on a new Cabriolet. This car was built on a Jeepney’s chassis. With leaf-sprung front and rear suspension and a utility vehicle engine from the 1940s. It wasn’t exactly the best of things, but it was stylish enough to turn heads with its stylish character lines, top-down roof, large chrome bumpers and its whitewall tyres sourced from somewhere.

Word spread quickly about this fashionable cabrio, and soon some people placed their own orders for it. Ricardo Quezon initially refused to build it for others, but when reasonable prices began being offered and demand was getting overwhelming, he commenced “mass” production of the car.

While all this was happening, the Drag Racing scene in the Philippines was booming. Closed runways and taxiways during times when the Manila International Airport wasn’t busy served as drag strips, and American cars with their big engines dominated this scene. A close friend of Quezon by the name of Marcelo Rodriguez was big in the drag racing scene. But he didn’t want to continue running around in American vehicles. He wanted something that he could call their own, and as such later in 1964, Rodriguez visited one of Quezon’s factories. He came at a time where they were planning on making newer and larger jeepneys to cater to higher demand. Seeing one of the larger chassis, he proposed the idea of building a Muscle car that could possibly be capable of taking down its American counterparts. Quezon, upon hearing this idea, initially refused. He had no engines he could use to power such a vehicle and the factory was still too small despite its recent expansions.

Rodriguez however was not one who would give up easily. He continued proposing ideas for such a potential car. And following a year of budging, in 1965 Quezon finally agreed to make five cars for Rodriguez and a few of his drag racing colleagues. The car was named the Coupe. Powered by an American-made Sisten SC Fifty Five engine mated to a Sisten transmission, arguably the only parts about this being “Filipino” was its chassis, bodywork, and interior.

Even then, the car made its way to fame in that year. Winning dozens of local drag races thanks to its powerful 5.5-litre engine. It was also lighter than its contemporaries thanks to a lot of “unneeded” safety features. It’s interior was also surprisingly well-equipped, which boosted its popularity among the wealthier people.

Following its gain in popularity in that single year, mass demand followed for this car, and Quezon eventually agreed to mass-produce the car after yet another factory expansion and after purchasing the plant wholly from Sarao. The Laguna was made with engines purchased from junkyards for cheap and tuned to make more power. Cars were still being mostly coach built by hand by early 1968, but later with the introduction of newer automated machinery from Japan saw factory efficiency rise and cars and jeepneys were being churned out of the factory at great levels. It peaked in July when over 200 Lagunas and 400 jeepneys were produced in a single month.

Among other things, the President of the Philippines began looking into this growing company in the same year, and had promptly requested a luxury car for personal and official use. Quezon, under orders by the President, had got to work on a luxury car which would be ready by 1969.

The car was called the Princesa, and was introduced in December of 1968. The largest and most luxurious Quezon-badged car of the time, it was also the first car to receive the 5-sided sun over the sea badge.

#### **1968-1977**

In 1968, the American giant Sisten was looking to expand in the Philippine market as its sales began expanding in the humble group of islands. Quezon, seeing as his company was expanding at a rather great rate, snapped at the opportunity thanks to his connections abroad, and wrote a message proposing a potential alliance between both companies. Sisten executives were invited to the factory in October of that year and were shown the potential of the Quezon Plant, and in early 1969 a partnership was born between the two companies.

In 1971, Quezon began developing their own engine, an overhead cam straight-six that they hoped would give better efficiency over its other counterparts. This engine, dubbed the “Quezon Straight Six” was introduced in 1972 as a base model engine for the new generation Laguna, and as the top-of-the-line engine for the Cordova. The engine was not only more efficient, but was often more powerful than its OHV counterparts. The 2.8-litre engine for example in the Cordova made power levels almost comparable to that of V8 engines twice its displacement, with surprisingly great efficiency. This was achievable thanks to its surprisingly compact design which made the engine lighter. It was also designed with as few moving parts as the engineers could fit into it.

This single-cam engine proved dominant in local motor races, Cordova GTs fitted with these engines dominated the higher-displacement categories, boosting their prestige in the market. In 1972 the second generation Laguna would be introduced in the Philippines with great success. It was designed actually primarily with the American market in mind, as they had begun planning on their infiltration of the market.

As the 1973 oil crisis hit, President Ferdinand Marcos himself advised consumers to purchase more efficient cars with 4-cylinder engines. Laguna sales immediately dropped in that year, and the base Cordova with its small Sisten 4-banger would prove to be Quezon’s most popular model in the Philippines.

In 1975, Quezon would finally enter the American market officially. With the introduction of the Laguna with its Super Eagle appearance package as well as the efficient Cordova, the cars would be a rather big hit as they landed in specialized dealerships.

Quezon’s new generation roadster, dubbed the “SR” would hit the markets around the world that same year too. Praised for its great driving dynamics, relative cheap cost and among other things, it would be one of the better selling roadsters of its time.

The next year, the Princesa’s second generation would make it to both the Philippine and American market at the same time. With contemporary design and impressive coachbuilt quality, it would prove to be the most popular luxury car in the Philippines, which doesn’t really say much as it never really sold well abroad.

1977 would be the last year Ricardo Quezon would be leading the company, and to replace him in the company was his own son, Felipe Quezon.

#### **1977-1988**

The Late 70s for Quezon would show how mismanagement began slowly eating away at the company, as Felipe’s inexperience with handling things began to cause anxiety for the industry. Especially with the introduction of mechanical fuel injection systems into the newer updated Quezons that, while reliable, were rather a pain to service and never really kept in touch with the Filipino “DIY” style.

By the early 80s, Felipe’s goal of utilizing newer available technology in an attempt to “boost sales” and prestige by incorporating advanced technology in a cheap package was beginning to take effect. The introduction of the front transverse-engined Cordova and the turbocharged Laguna would mark these first attempts.

The Cordova was released in 1981 on a new front-transverse platform derived from <placeholder car by Sisten or sub-brand idk>. This new Cordova had a base model engine that was somehow lagging behind the competition, but the mid and upper trims featured a new “Dual-Cam” 2-valve engine which boosted efficiency and power at the cost of it being relatively new for a roadcar of its price point, which resulted in unfortunately worse reliability than its counterparts in the market. The straight-six option was also discontinued with no replacement.

A sedan version of the Cordova was also released in this era with the same engine and trim options as its sportier coupe sibling.

The Laguna on the other hand was also based on the same platform and launched the following year in 1982. This new front-wheel-driven turbocharged coupe was to be the top-of-the-line Quezon in terms of sportiness. With technology developed in-house it unfortunately suffered from the same problems as the Cordova, with poor quality control which severely impacted the cars’ longevity.

The SR would receive a new update in 1981, with the turbo straight-4 from the Laguna being the new top-of-the-line engine, replacing the straight-six.

The Princesa would retain all its engine options as from its last update. For 1982 the Princesa received new styling cues and an updated hydraulic suspension system. Slow sales both within the country and overseas meant that the car eventually ceased production by 1983.

Economic hardships within the country throughout the early 80s meant that Quezon was struggling to maintain a decent market while keeping its tech advancements available. Some specific economic things later and the company found itself in some trouble by 1983.

The motorsports division was eventually shut down in 1983, as with the accident during the testing of the Cordova Turbo Group B rally car which resulted in the death of Josefino Quezon in 1982 had struck fear into Felipe. The F1 team had announced its ceasing of activities by 1984, but just in time in late 1983, Japanese company Suisei would purchase the team to keep it running under a different name, and perhaps be merged into another team.

Felipe Quezon would resort to a method that would hopefully keep his company afloat. The drug trade was on the rise by the 80s, and so in mid 1985 he began smuggling drugs through customs under the guise that they were equipment and other such things needed for the car company, he would also take advantage of his connections to Marcos to allow easier smuggling.

The SR would also cease production this year after Quezon’s downscaling.

In 1986, the People Power revolution was stirring up, and Felipe made the terrible mistake of siding with the Marcos family, a decision which never really made sense, and would prove to be fatal later down the line. Coinciding with this, Sisten was starting to downscale its operations, and they ended ties with Quezon promptly. This would prove to be a devastating blow to the company, as Quezon heavily relied on Sisten technologies such as transmissions and some engines, and also relied on building cars for Sisten to maintain the plants.

After the Marcoses were booted out of the Philippines, and Cory Aquino was installed into power, an investigation was made into Quezon, and Felipe was found out about his drug smuggling and in 1987 was arrested by the Philippine National Police.

1988 was when Quezon finally hit the bucket. A bunch of economic factors and government entrance meant that the company was forced to stop operations and went defunct.

#### **2001-2008**

Following Ricardo Quezon’s death in 2000 and the family clearing out of the former pioneer’s old room, 20 year old Miguel Quezon Garcia had suddenly got an inspiration. Having freshly graduated, and with support from his family, he and a small team of men had gathered to rebuild the brand’s legacy.

It was 2002 and the new Quezon Motors was re-launched under the same name as its predecessor. Their first car came with a familiar name; the SR-2. Powered by a 1000cc superbike engine, the car was a hit for its amazing driving dynamics, and would be one of the last of its era of being a “pure drivers car”.

With the SR-2 being a somewhat major success, with over 3000 cars being built within 4 years, they went on to revive their motorsports heritage. With the FIA dictating a minimum production run of 2500 units, the SR-2 just barely managed to make it in for homologation. Thus, in 2006 the SR-2 WRC made its debut, with relative success in that realm. Throughout the SR-2’s 10-year production span, over 5000 cars were made, with multiple special limited edition cars being available. Production was cut in 2012 when driver aids became mandatory for cars to be sold throughout the world.

In 2005, mass production plans were being written up. With a new goal of Quezon being a premium car manufacturer akin to Acura, and with a bigger focus on the international market over the local priority the old Quezon had. Engines were well into development thanks to the arrival of investors that were led into the company thanks to some connections.

By 2006, the new Cordova was finally ready to hit the market. Being only available in a coupe form like the original, the car was sent upmarket and was now advertised as a Premium coupe. yeah it succeeded whatever it had a lot of trims and some facelifts and minor updates so it was still relevant

Amidst the Cordova’s great sales, the 2008 recession would halt Quezon’s plans all of a sudden. As the company suddenly found itself in a world where luxury sedans were suddenly unwanted. Probably because the banks shat themselves or something along those lines.

They were questioning whether or not the Laguna would be a success still, and Miguel Garcia himself was doubting whether the company could even continue.

A certain Chinese investor had plans, however. Talks were made in late 08’, and the decision was made final a few months later in early 2009. The company was sold off to Filipino-Chinese businessman Alfredo Ho, who was backed with the Chinese state-owned Long March Holdings, a fairly large player in Philippine business at the time.

## Motorsport

##### *Main article: Quezon in motorsport*

Quezon has been participating in a variety of sporting events around the world almost since its inception.

## Car models

##### *For a complete list of all Quezon cars, including race cars and concept cars, see List of Quezon models.*

The first Quezon-made road car was the 1961 Quezon Supercab. An estimated 150 cabriolets were made by the small team of assemblers from 1961-1964. The first mass-production Quezon was the 1965 Coupe, later known as the Laguna from 1966 onwards. Quezon's first luxury vehicle was the 1969 Princesa

It is estimated that Quezon made somewhere from 500,000 to 520,000 cars from 1970 to 1987. The final Quezon, a Bulacan Red 1987 Laguna Turbo, under Felipe Quezon's ownership rolled off the factory in October of 1987. It currently resides in a private collection in the UK.

As of 2019, over 320,000 Quezons have been manufactured by the new company since 2007.

## Brand Identity

Quezon is one of the most influential companies in the Philippines, known for being a sign of power and wealth within the country and occasionally, outside as well. Most of this reputation came from the rule of former President Ferdinand Marcos, as during his reign, he famously used special coach-built Princesa limousines as both a presidential car, and as his own personal vehicle.

The company maintains a chain of boutiques and stores where it sells Quezon-themed items branded under the Laguna Signature sub-brand, launched in 2013. The brand sells items ranging from premium watches and jewelry, to clothing and mugs. Laguna Signature has been one of the main sponsors of the Scuderia Quezon Formula One team since 2016.

The *pentagrille* is a prominent design element on current Quezons. A five-sided pentagonal grille with the pointed end towards the bottom, filled and surrounded with large chrome bars. The design was first used in the QF701 Formula car in 1970, and later featured on the 1974 SR convertible. The first modern Quezon to use this grille was the 2006 Cordova. The only modern Quezon vehicle to not incorporate this element is the Custom Built, instead having a vertical arrangement of bars reminiscent of a Jeepney. The *pentagrille* design has came under scrutiny in the past few years as it began increasing in size and for its prominent use in Quezon automobiles.