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.

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.)

Gina, my Hyundai Getz Manila, is going to get leather seats! Woohoo!

(Admittedly, they’re not real leather seats, but I don’t want real leather- wawa naman the baka who dies just so Gina looks good – because it can get boiling hot in the summertime.)

I passed by MG Square along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City today, based on recommendations at this Hyundai Getz Philippines forum. The gentleman who assisted me, a suave, confident salesperson named Rey, ran me through the benefits of purchasing made-to-order (synthetic) leather seats from him. Among them:

• Their Hyundai Getz leather seat covers are double-stitched for greater durability.
• Their Hyundai Getz leather seat covers are tailor-fit for the size and design of Gina’s Hyundai Getz Manila seats.
• Their Hyundai Getz leather seat covers are designed in such a way they look like upholstering, not seat covers. It’ll look like Gina came with them!
• They can have the Hyundai Getz leather seat covers done by Sunday. That’s blazing fast by my standards.

I wanted to haggle, but I’m terrible at haggling. One time, I was so flustered by this shifty vendor in Greenhills that I haggled for a higher price! (The shoes were being offered to me for Php480; I offered Php500!)

I also did a quick pass at the Ace Hardware store beside SM Makati City two nights ago, and they offered me a similar product for Php3,900. I guess I just saved me Php400.

Rey gave me his number, but genius that I am, I left it in the Toyota Revo (which I drove yesterday since I still don’t have license plates, OR and CR). I’ll post it for all you interested Getzers who may want to have Hyundai Getz leather seat covers made.

I have decided to pimp my ride a bit, and buy Gina, my Hyundai Getz Philippines, new seat covers and a new horn, because the factory-installed Philippine Hyundai Getz horn sounds like a soft-spoken Michael Jackson with laryngitis.

Canvassing for Hyundai Getz horns and Hyundai Getz seat covers can get daunting, though. I’ve found a custom-made faux leather seat cover maker along Banawe Avenue in Quezon City, and their material feels absolutely lovely. Horns, I’m thinking of getting those at a bigger place like Concorde, so they can’t just run if the horn shorts on me during warranty.

Of course, I’ll do all this once the next payday comes in.

Today, Gina, my Hyundai Getz Philippines, took me and Team VISMIN (Lean, Red, and blogless ladies Anna and Maiden) to Buddy’s in Makati City. This restaurant in Makati is known for its delightful pancit lucban and pizzas, and Gina was the perfect ride to take us there.

Lean‘s Hyundai Getz review consisted mostly of comments on Gina’s looks. She said my Philippine Hyundai Getz was cute and compact, but surprisingly roomy. It was very comfortable, she said, and looked really easy to drive.
Red‘s Hyundai Getz review was similar to Lean’s. He found the interiors of Gina, my Hyundai Getz Philippines, very spacious and comfortable. He’s 5″10 and fit very well in the front passenger seat. He also noted the stainless steel door handles were nice, and the head room was perfect. (I should mention Red styles his hair approximate a quarter of a foot into the air.)

Both Lean and Red are jealous of me now. Harharhar!

The amount of money I saved on fuel went into paying for my share of the meal at this restaurant in Makati, which came up to… Php128 each. Isn’t that incredible? Two heaping plates of Buddy’s pancit lucban and two large Buddy’s pizzas, only Php640.00 for the whole thing! No wonder Gina was weighted down when we left the Makati restaurant! No problem, though; her 1.1 engine was more than enough to chug along five full-sized adults with decent pull.

I don’t know how this little outing will affect Gina’s fuel consumption experiment, but I’ll give you more data on that in the weeks to come.