FALCONS AND THIRD PARTY
What a pleasure it was to read about Luis Rivera’s impressive, ver y original and correct 1962 XL Falcon Futura sedan on page 136 of issue 451 of Unique Cars magazine. His car to rate as one of the best surviving examples in 2021.
Added to this, when most collector cars today are unregistered and used on temporary permits (often incorrectly referred to as ‘club reg’) it is certainly refreshing to see the originality of the Futura extending to its original 1962 issued Victorian full registration number.
In my opinion, the existence of these temporary club permits has resulted in the permanent loss of thousands of historically correct registration numbers and I think that’s a great shame that will in time become obvious to many who don’t see it today.
I appreciate that many will view the concept of being able to operate a collector car as an unregistered vehicle on a
‘club permit’ as an opportunity to avoid registration fees but in my opinion, this is the wrong way to view the issue.
Here’s the real issue. A major part of the cost of registering a car in Victoria (and I expect in other Australian states) is the compulsory third party (CTP) insurance. When you consider that this insurance is for injury to people and not damage to property (cars), then you have to ask why it
is not charged as part of your driver’s licence fee.
Consider this fact. If you don’t own a registered car but hold a driver’s licence, perhaps you have a company car or for some other reason use cars you don’t own, then you never pay a cent for CTP yet you are able to claim on this insurance should the need arise. On the other hand, if you own two or three registered cars then you pay for CTP two or three times but try and drive two cars at the same time!
In my opinion, VicRoads should bring the Club Permit Scheme to an end but at the same time reduce the registration cost by charging CTP as part of the driver’s licence fee. Every licensed driver should be expected to pay for personal injur y insurance regardless of whether they own a registered car or not.
Added to this, all cars operating on Australian roads should be fully registered and not operated over lengthy periods on ‘club permits’.
The current system of charging this insurance lev y means some pay it two, three or more times while others don’t pay it all.
Getting back to Luis’ XL Futura. As lovely as this car is, apart from the accessory press button radio, it’s actually not a heavily optioned car as the article suggests. I note for example that it’s not equipped with the optional (even on Futuras) two-speed fresh air heater/demister.
I always look forward to my next copy of Unique Cars and hope my comments about how Compulsory Third Insurance is charged creates some movement for a more common sense, and dare I say, fairer system. Regards
Carl Kelsen ED: Well, you’ve stepped into a nest of vipers there, Carl, though I agree with much of what you’re saying. One of the questions will inevitably what does this mean for licence charges – how high do they need to go. States and private insurance companies have used CTP as a cash-cow for years, so that would have to be dealt with as well. An interesting debate…anyone else want to have a crack?
FALCONS AND CRUISERS
Re the Argentinian Falcons, I work for an organisation that runs a f leet of Toyota LandCruiser 79 series utes. These vehicles began as the 75 series in 1985 and still look quite similar.
Continual updates over the decades though have resulted in an off road vehicle which is still unmatched in what it does, and has no problem sitting on 130km/h all day on Northern Territor y roads.
As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
The same goes for my BF Falcon wagon with its leaf spring rear end and ancient 6 cylinder engine.
Regards Peter Cairns
“BRING THE CLUB PERMIT SCHEME TO AN END”