ULTIMATE PASS PARADE

YOU’LL NEED TO BE AN EARLY RISER IF YOU WANT TO GET TO THE FRONT OF THE ULTIMATE PASS PARADE!

While some may ask what all the fuss is all about, the Ultimate Pass parade is the one that gets you right into the heart of the action for the upcoming Meguiar’s Main Street Car Show — well, if you’re up front, that is. This comes in handy if you’ve got a car that you’re hoping to get into the Top 10 Shootout or that you’d like to have parked nearby while you watch the crowds from one of the local cafes. This year, with cars turning up to the start point from before 6am, it seemed that the desire to end up parked on the main street was stronger than ever! What’s great about the parade, even for those who’d prefer a bit more of a sleep-in, is that the cars queued up along the Whangamata waterfront make for an impressive sight on their own, and, if you’ve got the legs for it, having a walk up and down the aisles will give you the best chance of getting up close and personal with some of the cars that you wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to. As always, the VIP crew of sponsors and invited guests got their own little side entrance into the front, and, this year, among those VIPs were a couple of special guests that couldn’t have been more different. The heavily publicized ‘Evie’, the electric-powered Ford Skyliner, along with CTB Performance’s just — and we mean just — ready 2018 Ford GT. The car was so new that, due to not yet having its underbody protection applied

to the carbon-fibre undertray, they wanted to keep it under 20kph, and rightfully so. Although, with the type of performance that the twin-turbo V6 offers, low-speed driving isn’t exactly what it was designed for. On roll-out onto Port Road, drivers were met with a sea of spectators. Those with the right idea were atop fences, home-built grandstands, or whatever else they could climb in order to see over the deep crowd. Almost every spectator stared in amazement with a phone or camera in hand. “Rev it up!” is the constant call of kids along the sidelines, even those who didn’t quite understand the meaning of it … and no, kids, Evie ‘revving it up’ is not going to do a lot, due to its silent electric motor. But the kids were out there having fun and being exposed to sights and sounds that a classroom could never offer. As the cars roll closer to the main street, the number of bystanders becomes overwhelming, with every vantage point full of camera-wielding fans. It makes you wonder where all these photos go ... The parade itself seems to be endless, but even when it goes quiet, those in the know hold their positions, as before long, the Standard Pass parade will weave its way through and amaze the crowd once more! Pick your spot wisely; guard it like your most treasured possession, and you can sit and watch the show roll by for hours — literally!

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