Project Rev starts at UWI - First Collegiate Auto Expo pulls substantial audience

Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writer

It was a car lover's heaven at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona campus, last Thursday as the campus played host to the inaugural Collegiate Auto Expo. Dubbed Project Rev, the event was organised by the Roosters of Taylor Hall.

Several high-end luxury vehicles, as well as the more moderate models, were on display on the lawns close to Taylor Hall. Representatives from participating dealerships had their hands full as curious students asked about prices and features. Others simply posed for pictures near their dream vehicles.

Sandre Malcolm, CEO of Break Da Box and member of the expo's organising committee, said, "We wanted to raise the profile of the type of events UWI students do, because it is known as a partying campus. So we wanted to do something a bit different. And then we realised
there had never been an auto show on campus
before.

"So we had two aims. We wanted to sensitise
students about the options that exist for them. For example, we have
Ministry of Transport and Works for road safety; we have a financing
institution; and we have the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA)
showing how to do parallel parking, so that was the gist behind it. And
we wanted to do it in a very exciting way, so we went for the
high-profile guys," Malcolm said.

Malcolm is confident
Project Rev can become an annual event. "We are talking with the
university currently, because this is the first year of what I want to
continue, so we are really working on. I think it may be too soon, but
we are working on it," Malcolm said.

Only new car
dealers were present, but Malcolm explained some of the new vehicles are
accessible to recent graduates, with the right financing. " You won't
be able to buy it cash, but monthly, they can if they get financing, and
that's what I wanted to expose them to," Malcolm
said.

Among the vehicles which attracted many admirers
on Thursday were the BMW M3, BMW Z4, Mercedes Benz A-Class, Kia
Sportage, Kia Cerato, Mitsubishi Pajero, and Mitsubishi Ask. But perhaps
the three vehicles that commanded the most attention were the Jaguar
F-Type (from ATL Automotive), BMW Z4 (from Stewart Motors), and Tato
Nano (from Metis Motors).

There was also a
parallel-parking contest, supervised by the JAA, which was a hit with
students, who queued up in numbers for a chance behind the wheel. Sydney
Wedderburn, driving instructor at the JAA, explained the factors in
judging the entrants.

"I'm looking for them not to
touch any cone on their way in or out. They must park within 18 inches
of the horizontal cone that represents the curves. I'm looking for
manoeuvrability and safety and they are given four minutes to park both
sides," Wedderburn said.

Digicel awarded a Hawaii
Media Pad and $3,000 call credit to the winner. Second place was awarded
a DL600 smartphone with $1,000 credit, while the third-place finisher
was awarded Digicel $1,000 call credit.

RBC Bank and
Sips Spring Water also participated in Project
Rev.

Photos by Sheldon Williams