“SHOULD CLASSIC CAR OWNERS PRESERVE CAR MARKET VALUE BY KEEPING THE MILEAGE LOW?”

Bad intentions

Many thanks for another most excellent UniqueCars this month. However I was stunned to read your totally inaccurate statement in the editorial re the demise or our car manufacturing industry. You state that “The intentions were good.” Really? How can the deliberate intention of reducing import duty be good? Surely it is obvious to all that once the duty, which was originally designed to protect our industry, is removed there will no longer be an industry.

You go on to state “and so too was the reasoning”. Oh! Who benefits from the loss of our car industry and that of all the Australian suppliers? All other manufacturing countries have an import duty sufficient to protected their industry. Why do we not? And as for using our ta x dollars to temporarily prop it up, outrageous! When all along the government deliberately orchestrated the industr y’s collapse by removing the tariff to almost nothing.

I look forward to next month’s edition. David Goodsir NSW ED I guess we’ll have to disagree on some of this, as I don’t think the intentions were evil, but the end result was a gigantic failure. If nothing else, it demonstrated that economic rationalism has a lot to answer for.

Loper fan

The picture on pages 114 and 115 would make a great poster (without the people... sorr y people!). I’d even buy one and I’m a Ford man. In my opinion, the only thing that detracts from the photo is the Club plates, and I know what I’m talking about because my Customline wears them. If only there’d been some way that Vic Roads could’ve linked my old black and white rego plates to Club rego... Yeah, I know, common sense and bureaucracy don’t mix...

Secondly, on page 79 of the Timeline, for 1935 we’re introduced to the ‘Loper’, and I racked my brain until I realised you meant Sloper!

Finally, my auntie owned a Camira like the one Brocky was leaning on page 105 (I wonder if he left an imprint of his cheeks on the bonnet...). My uncle used to say that the car had a secondary emergency brake – to slow it down all you had to do was switch on the aircon on. Cruel but true. Phil Minns Email

How many fantales?

I have just bought a VF SV6 from my daughter. Love the car. Love the colour. It is orange (Fantale) I was wondering if you could tell me how many were made that colour as I don’t see many about. Tony Dyer Email

Drive it or not?

In issue 405 Glenn T asks the vexed question of whether classic car owners should preserve car market value by keeping the mileage low. Naturally the answer is “it depends”. If it’s a car you will never tire of and keep forever, then I say maximise the enjoyment by maximising the kays. If your main attraction to the car is its investment potential then you probably want to minimise the mileage.

I’ve just spent $1500 on my 450,000km Prelude (new windscreen, ball joints, CV boot kit ...). If we both make it to 500,000km we’ll have something to celebrate. I’ll never sell it and the car makes me feel like a million bucks every time I drive it. Brian WA