On Saturday just past (the 28th of November to be precise) there was what I would call a “typical” Car Show, held in Invercargill.  Gone are the days where people bring out there well looked after cars that they’ve owned forever.  It seems in the US car scenes side of things that the majority of the show ponies are recent imports, bought from the US for relatively cheap and then flicked to some poor sap who doesn’t have the ability to import the car themselves and as such is willing to pay an horrific premium because of it.

I pulled up to the gates in my recently acquired Japanese Classic.  It received exactly the reception I had anticipated.  Contempt.    However being that this is a small backwards, hick town in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, I would have been surprised at anything else.  The man at the gates looked down his nose and pointed me toward the car park.   I parked amongst a mix of modern Aussie plastic fodder as would be expected at such a gig and dragged my partner along with me into the “show” area, where she then had to endure me attempting to take at least two photos of each car worth photographing that was there as well as my usual mix of detail photos.  A select few of the results are as such;

Impala vs. Mustang

Impala vs. Mustang

Stickerd Impala

Sticker'd Impala

Ford Thunderbird

Ford Thunderbird

Teardrop Style

Teardrop Style

My favourite car at the show

My favourite car at the show

An Amazing Edsel with disgusting Failure

An Amazing Edsel with disgusting Failure

The failure on the Edsel was a well airbrushed but entirely out of place Black Panther on the bonnet.  Not cool.

After having been around once and then doubling back to snap any interesting additions that may have popped in whilst the wander was occuring, we left.  Only one person seemed willing to have a conversation while I was there and that was the owner of a Rambler Rebel.  For the most part (though obviously not entirely) in this region, owner’s of American classics ooze a hideous “Holier Than Thou” aura, that you very rarely come across in car circles, at least not within the British, Japanese, European and Racing Car circles I’m used to being around.

I was slightly disappointed with the gathering in that this particular showing bore witness to a very small selection of what is regular around these parts.

The complete Gallery of what did show up is available on the retro-classics.co.nz flickr Account which you can get to by following the below link;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/retro-classics/sets/72157622784918989/

Enjoy!

-Michael

1 Comment

  • Cripes you were a brave boy venturing there Michael. The newly emerged American Car scene in N.Z reminds me of The Borg off Star-Trek or some sort of Islamic extremism which demands conversion or death. Interestingly and worthy of a dissertation/expansion-on by someone is currently Trade Me has 115 Mustangs (alone) listed. Supply exceeding demand? Cheers. Paul.

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