Get ready for a Ford fiesta

Ford mustangs will up the drool factor. Photo / Supplied

The Auckland All Ford Day is an annual event for all Ford enthusiasts, and their families and friends, to come along and share all things Ford.

The event has been running for the past nine years and this year is at the North Harbour Stadium members car park on Sunday, April 5, 10am to 3pm.

All Ford vehicles and Ford-powered vehicles are welcome to enter the event.

Last year over 400 people from all over the country turned up to showcase their different Fords and Ford-powered vehicles.

Various owner clubs including the founding clubs, FPV/Tickford Club, Ford Anglia Owners Club, GT Falcon Club of NZ, RS Owners Club and the Auckland Mustang Owners Club are expected to be at the annual Ford extravaganza, plus many more including the Cobra, Cortina, Capris and Old School Clubs.

The 2009 event is sponsored by the Auckland Ford Dealers (John Andrew, North Harbour and South Auckland) and once again is raising money for Variety the Children's Charity, as well as the relatively new charity, Kids in Cars.

This year's event will be bigger and better than ever with fun activities for the whole family, including two remote control car displays (on-road and off-road), a scavenger hunt for children under 12, tyre-changing competitions and many spot prizes.

Confirmed family activities include Mr Whippy, ice slushies and other food stands, two children's bouncy castles and a Ford V8 simulator courtesy of Hyper Stimulator.

In addition the organisers have announced that Helicam will be there offering $40 helicopter rides to all Auckland All Ford Day ticket holders.

The New Zealand Fire Service is bringing along their Kitchen Demonstration and Wendy House to add to the entertainment.

To keep the adults entertained this year, there will be over 400 vehicles to admire, live music to keep the atmosphere rocking, a coffee kart to keep you going throughout the day and a great sausage sizzle on a BBQ made out of a Ford chassis.

The event has grown from humble beginnings as a club show day, to an event that is mushrooming year-on-year as it starts to become a must-do occasion for the Ford aficionado.

The AAFD is purely a not-for-profit event, run by a committee of passionate Blue Oval supporters. Every year the event committee chooses a charity to support, to which a large proportion of the proceeds on the day are donated.

This year's charities, as the committee couldn't decide on just the one, are Variety, the Children's Charity and Kids in Cars. KIC was originally set up as a charity to raise money for children living with cancer. Five years on, KIC is expanding and is also known as Kids in the Community.

Variety, the Children's Charity, provides support and assistance to sick, disabled and disadvantaged children under the age of 18. Since 1989, Variety has distributed more than $11.3 million to Kiwi kids in need.

The remaining profits are split between the five organising clubs: the FPV & Tickford Owners Club, Falcon GT Club, Anglia Car Club, Ford RS Owners Club and the Auckland Mustang Owners Club.

You can expect to see vehicles that are not generally on public display such as Mustangs, GT Falcons, Cosworth-enhanced Fords, Anglias, Escorts, Cortinas, Zephyrs, Zodiacs and early Fords such as the Model T and the Model A, right through to the 2008 New Zealand Car of the Year, the FG Falcon, and the AMI Car of the Year, the FPV F6.

Traditionally, the AAFD has had 10 judging categories, however, the 2009 Auckland All Ford Day has expanded to 15 categories thanks to an increased number of sponsors the likes of Webdesign, Digital Mobile, Swann Insurance and Castrol. (See www.fordday.com for a full list).

* Show your stuff at Auckland All Ford Day

When: Sunday April 5, 2009, Public entry 10am - 3pm
Where: North Harbour Stadium members carpark
Prize giving at 2pm (winners must be present to receive their prize)

SPONSOR'S CHOICE

This category is sponsored and judged by the Auckland Ford Dealers - that's John Andrew, North Harbour and South Auckland Ford. Open to all vehicle entrants, the winner will win a trip for two to Melbourne Australia to visit the FPV factory and the Ford Discovery centre.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE

Again, open to all entrants with the winner picked by you, the spectators. The prize is $1000 cash and a year's supply of Castrol EDGE.

BEST WHEELS

Looking for unique alloys, good looking tyres and the overall fit of the tyres on the vehicle, GT Radials will award the winner of this category a gift voucher to the value of $1000.

BEST MATURE AUSTRALIAN

Open to all Ford or Ford-powered vehicles over 20 years old with an Australian origin. Final Touch have a $1000 prize pack for the lucky winner.

BEST PROJECT VEHICLE

New this year, the competition is open to all vehicles with serious potential. PPG paints will donate $1000 to the winner to help them reach their dream.

BEST AMERICAN

Open to all Fords or Ford-powered vehicles of American origin, the winner receives a great prize from Digital Mobile valued at $1000.

BEST MODIFIED

A new category to the 2009 Auckland All Ford Day, the Best Modified category is open to all vehicle entries. Judges will be looking for the vehicle that has best illustrated how to modify an existing shell, engine, accessories and parts of original Fords while maintaining the integrity and style of the Blue Oval. DeWalt will award the winner of this category a selection of tools to ensure their modification efforts can continue.

BEST ENGLISH/EUROPEAN

Open to all Fords or Ford-powered vehicles of English origin, this $1000 prize is proudly sponsored by English Classic Ford Magazine.

BEST BODY

A new category, judges will be looking for fine workmanship, clean lines and an overall nice shape to the body. The winner receives a Mothers Automotive prize pack valued at $1000.

BEST CLASSIC

Open to all vehicles built between 1940 and 1980, the winner of this category will receive a complete Swann Insurance vehicle insurance package.

BEST VINTAGE/VETERAN

Open to all vehicles built between 1900 and 1940. To honour the Blue Oval heritage, Swann Insurance is sponsoring a complete vehicle insurance package for the winner.

BEST MODERN

Open to all vehicles built from 1980 until today and again the winning vehicle will receive a complete vehicle insurance package from Swann.

BEST COMMERCIAL

This category is open to all commercial Ford or Ford-powered vehicle entries from any era and any origin. The winner gets a personalised plate package to the value of $995 courtesy of Personalised Plates.

BEST HOT ROD

Always a favourite, this is open to all Ford or Ford-powered Hot Rods. The category winner will receive a professional photoshoot of their vehicle and a mounted image from Dave Blyth and Webdesign.

BEST YOUNG AUSTRALIAN

Open to all Ford or Ford-powered vehicles from an Australian origin built in the last 20 years - between 1989 and 2009. Mag and Turbo Warehouse central city are proud to award the winner of this category a $1000 gift voucher for their store.

There's one more category and for the spectators, probably the most important. If you are an Australian V8 Supercar fan and want to win a place on Steve Richards' FPR Castrol EDGE pit crew team at the Hamilton 400 - do Ford proud and show the Auckland All Ford Day Committee that you are the biggest Ford fanatic.

Here are some ideas of how you could be in the running:

Dress up in everything you can think of Blue Oval.
Use body paint and tattoos.
Carry Ford Flags, towels, sheets, anything really.
Be very loud and proud at the Auckland All Ford Day.
Dress your children, pets and whole family up and bring them along.