An ensemble of tastefully modded Toyotas

IF you happened to be at Estancia Mall in Pasig a couple of Sundays ago, you probably saw countless tricked-out Toyotas roaming around the vicinity. They were likely on their way to Aesthetics Toyota’s (AT) first get-together of the year. AT is a group dedicated to quality-modified Toyotas.

Particularly known in the local car scene for their cleanly built project Toyotas, AT is actually one of the few positive outcomes of the pandemic. It started as an Instagram page that shares stunning Toyota project cars and evolved into a full-blown community through simple get-togethers.

At their most recent get-together, or GT as the group calls it, 110 people gathered at the Tipsy Pig at Estancia, and the parking lot was dominated by close to a hundred Fortuners, Hiluxes, FJs, and Land Cruisers, all sporting top-notch parts, mostly from well-known Japanese tuning brands. Good company, nice ‘Yotas, scrumptious food — AT seems to know how to throw a proper car meet.

We got to sit down with one of AT’s founding members, McCoy Badillo, and talk more about the group. “Aesthetics Toyota is now entering its fourth year. Basically, what we, together with the other moderators, aim to do is to continue and make this community flourish even further,” Badillo shared.

The founding member further said that the group’s success does not actually translate to the number of members. “We value quality over quantity in AT. We’re not after gaining more members. By flourish, what I mean is by making a good mark in the local car scene.”

An ensemble of tastefully modded Toyotas

With this, it can be seen that the group is pretty much on the right track toward this goal. AT was present at the NeoClassic car show, the highly regarded car event that has been the recent talk among the local car community. They were one of the few that made it to the event’s curated list of car groups.

AT’s seemingly strict application process is one of the known aspects of the group. Badillo was quick to clarify. “We do not intimidate. What we have been striving for is to make sure that every car that will be slapped with an AT sticker is well-deserving. Aside from the car, the member’s attitude is always considered as well. That’s the reason behind our screening process.”

Another clarification he made is AT being limited only to Toyota SUVs and pickup trucks. “Any Toyota is welcome to join. Again, as long as it conforms with the group’s clean build ideology, everyone is welcome to join AT.” True enough, a couple of tastefully built Altis, Camrys, NCP90 Yaris, Raizes, and Velozs were spotted at the meet. The Autoplus Sport GR Yaris also made a special appearance at the meet. He also shared that they have members who own Cressidas and 90s Corollas.

“Fun GTs like this one will happen throughout 2024. Toward the latter part of the year, we’re planning to hold the first Aesthetics Toyota car show, aiming to show that every member’s ride here is worthy to be showcased at such an event,” Badillo said.

John Rey San Diego