Wheeling down memory lane for the 31st time

Memories of the early days of motoring will return to Ellerslie racecourse on February 15 with the country's biggest and longest-running classic car show.

More than 400 restored classics - many representing marques that are a distant memory, like Jowett, Jensen, Standard, Vanguard and Wolseley - and latest models will be on show at the New Zealand Classic Car 3lst Intermarque Concours d'Elegance.

The main attraction is expected to be a display of early Holdens by host club the Early Holden Club of Auckland, supported by other Holden clubs and Holden New Zealand, which will have a line-up of latest models.

For the first time future classics will be on show - latest models destined to become tomorrow's collectibles - among them Aston Martin, Bentley, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari Enzo, Jaguar, Volvo, Mini Cooper.

About 65 classic car clubs will be involved in the show, supported by leading vehicle distributors, dealers and restoration industry suppliers.

Launched at Auckland's Cornwall Park sunken gardens in December 1972, the concours this year will reflect the way we were with displays echoing the eras of the cars on show.

Over the years the intermarque concours has become this country's equivalent of California's famed Pebble Beach car show, with hundreds of vehicle owners competing for awards, particularly in the Meguiars shine and show event.

Visitors to the show can win, too. Advanced driver-training courses at Pukekohe racetrack with Euro Driver Training are up for grabs.

Many enthusiasts, including some well-known motor industry figures, turn up annually to show their increasingly valuable vehicles.

Top car owners (and sometimes multiple winners) have included Jaguar dealer Mark Shorter, Trevor Hudson (Porsche), Alan Poole (Citroen), Brian Jackson (Studebaker) and Rob Turner (Alfa Romeo).

Among the masters class owners have been Colin Giltrap (1951 Jaguar), Stuart McCondach (Gullwing Mercedes) and Mark Shorter again.

Some of the masters class entrants reportedly cost hundreds of thousand dollars to restore. As a result, some of the vehicles are better than new. Many exhibits at this show are equally as rare and valuable as those seen overseas.

The classic car restoration industry in New Zealand is alive and growing with some companies restoring vehicles for the international market. That's not surprising, given that in pre-used import days, owning an old car was the norm in New Zealand and you did everything you could to keep it on the road.

In the 50s, 60s and 70s pre-World War II vehicles were still seen daily on New Zealand roads, cars like 1920's Essex Super Sixes, pre-war Hillmans, Ford Standards and Model As.

The concours is a nostalgic family day out as owners polish away invisible marks, dust specks off spotless leather, flash open vehicle bonnets, rev engines, and tell you they don't make cars the way they used to.