EVERY CAR HAS A STORY — SO DOES ITS OWNER

Iwas recently asked in a general conversation what I did for a living. My general response is to say that I work for a media company, and this time, like many other times when asked the same question, the person pressed for a more precise answer. At this point I responded, like I usually do, by saying that I am the editor of New Zealand Classic Car magazine, to which the reply is, more often than not, ‘What a great job you have, you must see some great cars’.

This conversation was much like any other that focuses on my favourite, most expensive, or most exotic classic car that I’ve come across during my years of working on this magazine, and the discussion generally turns into a lengthy one about great classic cars.

As you can imagine, I am fortunate enough to see some fabulous classic cars on an almost weekly basis, some of which are worth eye-watering amounts of money, and others that are more affordable to most of us. I’m generally not influenced as to the marque, history, or value of any car in considering it as a potential feature car for this magazine, as it’s more about what I think you, the readers, are going to be most interested in reading about.

I understand the fact that our readers appreciate the work and effort that is needed to restore and present any classic car in pristine condition. Similarly, we can all admire the original, unmolested survivors no matter what the marque.

What is just as important, if not more so, are the car owners themselves. Their classic car experiences never fail to contain loads of interesting personal memories, restoration stories, risky deals, and fun memoirs relating to how they’ve ended up with a certain car.

I like nothing more than to listen to a good, old-fashioned restoration story. There’s definitely something special and undeniably cool about finding an old unloved car and devoting vast amounts of time, energy, and hard-earned cash until it’s shinier than the day it rolled off the showroom floor. The commitment, frustration, and the sheer passion for such projects is what makes them so interesting, thus forging lasting relationships between the car and its owner, as well as in our tight-knit classic car community — this is the real reason that classic cars are so irresistible.