Late King a patron of automobiles

APART FROM his passion for music and sports, HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej also had much interest for automobiles in many ways over the years.
Whether it was the range of vehicles in the royal stable that were made for special purposes or his concern for the industry and even car buyers, the late beloved King’s involvement with Thailand’s automobile scene was discussed during the “CEO Talk: His
Majesty’s Patronage to the Automobile Industry”, which was organised by the Thai Automotive Journalists Association at the
Thailand International Motor Expo recently.
The event drew several speakers, including Panatda Chennavasin,vicepresident of Tripetch Isuzu Sales, Somkanueng Tanworrakul, committee member at the Vintage Car Club of Thailand, and Boonpira Banvorn, special adviser at Siam Motors Group and committee member at the King Prajadhipok and Queen Rambhai Barni Foundation.
Many would imagine ultra-luxury vehicles such as Rolls-Royces and Maybachs being fit for serving a King, filling the royal stable. But it wasn’t only about glory as the range of royal vehicles had different purposes. 
“HM King Rama IX was a great achiever in every field, especially automobiles,” Somkanueng said. “He knew many models very well. When he was young he stayed in Lausanne in Switzerland, which had roads with great scenery, and he would take regular car rides. He understood the speed and details of each car he commuted in.”
Back in the Kingdom after his coronation, King Bhumibol had a large fleet of royal vehicles, each with a different purpose for use on different occasions.
“The vehicles had to be chosen carefully to match the budget, since many of them were purchased from the national budget. And some royal vehicles were used so heavily they eventually wore out. This is because the roads that HM King Bhumibol took to visit the people in remote areas were not in good condition. In fact, many of them were in rather poor shape. He had asked that
vehicles suitable for the job be purchased, and many of them weren’t expensive vehicles at all,” Somkanueng added.
Somkanueng recalled an event on September 13, 1954, when King Bhumibol visited the people by driving himself.
“It was kind of an emergency and he had wanted to rush to a fire scene at the Banpong market in Ratchaburi. He was so concerned about the welfare of the people that he got into a Delahaye 135M Cabriolet from the Amphorn Royal Palace, with HM Queen Sirikit as his passenger. The Delahaye was a luxury car with high power, and he was able to control it really well at
high speeds, leaving the royal guards behind. The King just didn’t want his people to wait a long time,” he said.
King Bhumibol also often bargained for the best for the people, Panatda said.
“As representative of the Isuzu Group in Thailand, I have had the opportunity to continuously work for HM King Bhumibol’s projects. The group was given an audience with him on four occasions, and I was most impressed during the event that Isuzu
had reached its 50th year of operation in Thailand in 2007,” she said.
The Isuzu management had presented a donation of Bt50 million, but King Bhumibol asked for something else.
“HM King Bhumibol asked for 10 Isuzu Mu-7s instead of the cash donation for use in various projects. But we were set to donate the Bt50 million, so we requested that we would like to donate the 10 Mu-7s in addition to the cash donation. But HM King Bhumibol declined, and said if we wanted to donate money, we should first deduct the cost of the vehicles, which was about Bt12 million, and then donate just the remaining money,” she said.
On the day that Isuzu presented the donations, King Bhumibol studied the Mu-7 carefully and it was evident that he had much knowledge about automobiles, she said.
“He asked many questions about the rear-view camera [which was a new feature then] as well as the tax system, which tells us that he really cares about the welfare of the people in many, many ways,” Panatda recalled.
According to Boonpira, King Bhumibol was a King who truly understood the Thai automobile industry, and had always given support to the industry whether in terms of vehicle production, imports and exports, as well as in terms of building better infrastructure such as roads and bridges for better transportation.
“HM King Bhumibol considered the importance of the automobile industry for bringing development to Thailand. His vehicles
were not only luxury cars of each era, but vehicles that had the capability to overcome every obstacle in order to reach people in remote areas of the country,” Boonpira said.
“He had always lived according to his promise that if the people do not abandon him, he will never abandon the people,” Boonpira added.
Many will recall the BBC interview with King Bhumibol in a remote area during the years Thailand was battling the spread of communism during the 1970s.
Asked by the reporter whether he felt the government was winning against the communists by building a dam, King Bhumibol replied, “Oh, I don’t know. But we are winning against hunger. This is what we are doing. We are not fighting against people. We are fighting against hunger. We want them to have a better life. If we make this and they have a better life, the people you call communist insurgents will have a better life also. So everybody is happy.”