The President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, does not like having luxury vehicles smuggled into his country. In fact, he has made a name for himself for crushing any luxury car he can find that was imported through illegal means.
Most recently, Duterte ordered the destruction of 68 illegally imported cars and motorcycles in the country.
Of course, the destruction of the vehicles extended far beyond the simple act of having them crushed. The government made the most of the occasion by adding some theatrics and having President Duterte watch from the sidelines with safety glasses and a safety helmet.
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Local media filmed Duterte walking down the line of luxury vehicles which he was about to destroy and while he didn’t crack a smile on camera, he was probably smiling on the inside. Rather than using a dedicated car crusher, those behind the mass killing used a huge bulldozer to run over the vehicles after lining them up. This may have been completely unnecessary but it does get the message across.
A number of particularly desirable vehicles were crushed. For starters, there was a grey Lamborghini Gallardo, at least five Porsche 911s, a Ford Mustang convertible, numerous BMWs, a Nissan Skyline and more. The vehicles were valued at an estimated $5.89 million at current exchange rates.
While Duterte obviously thinks crushing illegally-imported vehicles is the way to go, we’re not so sure it’s the best course of action. For example, the government could auction them off to overseas buyers and pocket all of the cash. Alternatively, it could have them recycled and use the materials in construction projects across the country.