New Zealand can’t get enough of the new Mustang!

29 May, 2015

With the impending arrival of Ford New Zealand’s 2015 Mustangs later on in the year, hype is clearly building here in little old New Zealand — more than 300 orders have already been placed for the new Mustang. The most popular choice so far seems to be the Mustang GT Fastback, equipped with five-litre V8 and six-speed automatic, which makes up around 60 per cent of overall orders.  

“Just like in America, we are seeing great early demand for the V8 GT models,” said Corey Holter, Managing Director of Ford New Zealand, “But, we anticipate the EcoBoost model will be a bigger seller longer term … as people see its great combination of performance and fuel economy.” Prices for the new Mustang start at $56,990 for a Fastback with 2.3-litre EcoBoost and six-speed automatic, climbing to $76,990 for the range-topping Mustang GT Convertible with five-litre V8 and six-speed automatic.

Put a ring around that

Provenance is a valuable part of a classic car and DKW/Auto Union collectors Brendan and Bobbette Odell have a detailed documented history of a special car in their growing collection of these little two-stroke wonders.
Brendan’s hometown of Pretoria enjoyed more than its fair share of the marque, where their reliability and performance made them popular..
“There used to be a joke going round in South Africa that there were more DKWs in Pretoria per square mile than anywhere else in the world,” Says Brendan.
The Odells redressed that balance a little when they shifted to New Zealand as they brought some of the cars with them.
One of their DKWs also accompanied them to Tonga. Brendan’s green 1959 Auto Union 1000 two-door went with them from South Africa to Tonga from 2010 to 2013 where he worked for the local airline. It then travelled on with them to New Zealand. It is one of just 10 right-hand drive cars of the two-door basic model remaining worldwide.

Stag roars again

The Triumph Stag pictured here has been lovingly restored from what was once, in the owner’s words, “a horrible, terrible job”. Owners Glynn and Alison Gaston hail from Dunedin and along with their grandchildren now enjoy cruising in the Stag after a three-and-a-half-year restoration.
In 2011, Glynn was looking for a classic car to restore. After 21 years with Air New Zealand he was working as a Super Shuttle driver, with four days on and four days off, which gave him the time to take on such a project — something he had always wanted to do.
“I’d looked at quite a few cars over the years. The idea was to restore a car as something to keep me going. I had looked at different MGs and I would have quite liked an Austin Healey or something similar but they were really expensive.
“Then I saw a Stag and I thought, Ah, this is nice. This is what I would like.