All good things take time

8 April, 2015

How long would you put up with seats looking like this in your classic car?

One of Parkside Media’s senior management team has finally, after fifteen years, decided the time is right to have the sad-and-sorry seat upholstery attended to in his Triumph TR6, despite the fact that he’s become rather attached to that ‘patina’ look. 

He’s not one to rush into things, tending to tread carefully and cautiously into making decisions such as this, but the word is that the Triumph is finally booked in and ready to go. 

As for the dash, the owner is still pondering on the best, and cheapest, method of repair. 

We’ll keep you updated on progress as it happens. 

Motorman – The saga of the Temple Buell Maseratis

Swiss-born Hans Tanner and American Temple Buell were apparently among the many overseas visitors who arrived in New Zealand for the Ardmore Grand Prix and Lady Wigram trophy in January 1959. Unlike Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Ron Flockhart, Harry Schell and Carroll Shelby who lined up for the sixth New Zealand Grand Prix that year, Tanner and Buell were not racing drivers but they were key players in international motor sport.
Neither the rotund and cheery Buell nor the multi-faceted Tanner were keen on being photographed and the word ‘apparently’ is used in the absence of hard evidence that Buell actually arrived in this country 64 years ago.

Luxury by design

How do you define luxury? To some it is being blinded with all manner of technological wizardry, from massaging heated seats to being able to activate everything with your voice, be it the driver’s side window or the next track on Spotify. To others, the most exorbitant price tag will dictate how luxurious a car is.
For me, true automotive luxury comes from being transported in unparalleled comfort, refinement, and smoothness of power under complete control. Forget millions of technological toys; if one can be transported here and there without the sensation of moving at all, that is luxury — something that is perfectly encapsulated by the original Lexus LS400. It was the first truly global luxury car from Toyota, and one that made the big luxury brands take notice.