Americarna able to be selective over entrants
Taranaki’s iconic celebration of American muscle cars has become so popular it has the luxury of being selective with who takes part.
Americarna, the brainchild of New Plymouth businessman John Rae, first rumbled its way around the region’s highways in
2007 and the event has continued to grow ever since.
It attracts hundreds of showroom quality classic American cars and thousands of tourists to Taranaki every February and is a big hit with locals.
However, due to its increasing popularity Rae says the number of vehicles would be limited to around 850 in
2019 and that means some late model American cars will miss out so the classic cars still have a place.
‘‘Special interest vehicles, which along with all the classics, customs and hot rods is what Americarna has been built on.
‘‘What we don’t want is to have an event full of brand new New Zealand-new Mustangs,’’ Rae said.
Rae said the 2019 event would showcase some of the latest Corvette and Dodge vehicles including wide-body Hellcats and ACR Vipers. It would give the spectators the opportunity to compare the models from different years, he said.
‘‘So that gives people a wide range of stuff to look at.
‘‘It’s not all about the new but I like the specialised new stuff and I like the old stuff. So you can see the transitions through the
years,’’ he said.
Rae said the way the Taranaki public had embraced the event, which had been taken to other centres around the country, along with its geography had helped ensure its success.
‘‘You are not driving for hours and hours with nothingness, you don’t have to go too far without coming to a community.’’
He said the carnival-like atmosphere that followed the convoy of cars around the region to smaller centres including Ha¯ wera, Waitara, Inglewood and Opunake was phenomenal.
There had also been an explosion in spectators lining New Plymouth’s Mangorei Rd to greet the cars as they returned to the city for the Friday night street cruise in the past four years. ‘‘It’s become a huge spectacle. ‘‘The cars are going slow, people are waving and they’re tooting and it just creates an atmosphere.’’
In 2014 management of Americarna was transferred to the Taranaki Vehicle Events Trust, a charitable organisation set up specifically to secure the funding required to hold the annual event.
Rae said he was still in charge of the entrant component of the event and enjoyed working with the trust but the aim was now to maintain its popularity.
‘‘The challenge is always ensuring how to keep the thing fresh.’’
One new attraction in 2019 would be the potential addition of three drag cars to the New Plymouth street cruise.
‘‘That will be quite neat with the flames and the noise to finish off Friday night.’’
This year Mainstream Americarna will run from Wednesday, February 20 through to Saturday, February 23 and will include the street parties it’s become renowned for.