Cape motor shows have come a long way
MOTOR shows in the Cape have a long and interesting history.
The first motor show was held in the early 1900s and formed part of the Cape Agricultural Show, that used to be held at the old Rosebank Showground.
In later years and until the outbreak of WWII, they were staged on an annual basis in an old warehouse in Paarden Eiland.
This was not particularly difficult in the 1930s, when the leading American manufacturers that included General Motors (GM), Ford and Chrysler, launched new models every year.
The changes were almost exclusively visual, with a three speed gearbox coupled to mechanical offerings that were usually restricted to in-line, side valve engines (although Ford did introduce their popular V8 during this period, with GM opting for OHV cylinder heads).
There was also a sprinkling of smaller models from Austin, Morris, Vauxhall and Ford in Britain, Peugeot and Citroen in France, and Fiat in Italy.
However, the first show of any note after the cessation of hostilities was promoted by the leading motor clubs in Cape Town in 1964. This was after two international Grands Prix that were staged on the costly and then new circuit been built at Killarney, ran at a loss.
The result was the Mets club, that controlled the track, was in desperate need of funds to save the complex from insolvency.
With the support of the Cape Argus, it was decided a motor show would be the answer and the search for a suitable site led them to the Goodwood Showgrounds (that had taken over from the Rosebank venue).
There they were informed any deal would have to include the entire complex – lock, stock and rows of smelly stables – rather than the one hall they originally had in mind.
They signed for the eight-day occupation of an area that included an arena bounded by a 600m oval track, a large grandstand with change rooms and a dining hall, three large exhibition halls and the rows of stables. And it worked. Stock car racing along the lines of the American Nascar Series was staged for the first time, while a go-kart track, with karts available for hire to the public, was another successful innovation.
The venture was a huge success, and raised enough to settle the outstanding debt. It also resulted in several more conventional smaller scale shows being organised at a variety of venues in the years that followed.
However, the coming Killarney Motor Show on November 6 – again with the support of the Cape Argus – is the first time the Killarney complex is being used.
And while its one-day scope is much shorter than any of the others, it has the open, as well as enclosed space, to offer the public far more than has ever been attempted before.