Blue Ovals only: Henry Ford Memorial Day Display

13 September, 2016

As we all know, the success of most automotive events is largely dependent upon the weather. Well, the second weekend of September 2016 blessed us with amazing skies, and we were rewarded with a stellar show put on by the Waikato Mustang Owners Club. The annual Henry Ford Memorial Day Display and Swap Meet was originally scheduled for July 31, but ended up being postponed due to bad weather — we can tell you that it was well worth the wait.

Considering it was hosted by a Mustang club, you can be sure there was no shortage of them, but it was so much more than that. Dedicated to everything ‘Blue Oval’, with around 800 cars on display ranging from Model Ts through to the latest Falcons and Mustangs, as well as a hefty swap meet, the event was not just for the Ford lovers — any petrolhead would feel right at home.

That said, a bit of Ford love certainly wouldn’t go amiss — not when sights like this were on offer wherever you’d look.

Or sights like this, although the Mach 1’s bum isn’t the only big thing in this photo. Just check out the decent-sized crowd milling around.

But if you were after big, you couldn’t go past the big chunk of Ford Aeromax truck hiding in the background of this photo — see, it wasn’t just Mustangs!

And not-so-big Fords were in attendance, too. Check out Ashley Hollings’ remote-controlled Model A tow truck, powered by a pair of mobility-scooter motors, and built by her dad, Jono.

It didn’t have to have a Blue Oval badge to be welcome, either. The Shelby Cobra is a massive part of Ford history, and one that’s spawned countless replicas across the world. This one looked beautiful, and we’ve gotta hope the ‘427’ fender badges weren’t lying!

On the opposite end of the performance scale, these Model Ts paid a fitting homage to the grandfathers of modern motoring.

In fact, just about every year of Ford production seemed to be present and accounted for — an excellent turnout for what is a truly excellent event. Twenty-two years sure seems to have perfected one of the best ways to kick the old event calendar in the guts, and get the horsepower party started!

Grand Routier — in the french tradition

10 July, 2025

Sitting in Paddy and Patsy Williams’ Dunedin garage is a stunning example of one of these rare French grand routier sedans. It is a 1949 four-door Lago-Record Factory Berline sedan, to give its full name. Daughter Cath let us know how proud she was of her dad, who had been tinkering away in his garage on this car for so many years.
Without exaggeration, it has been a mammoth task. I first saw this Talbot-Lago in mid 2019. The long-nosed, sweeping, curved four-door saloon, clothed in its misty green metallic paint, was quite breathtaking. There’s more than a little English influence in it, too, harking back to company owner Tony Lago’s involvement in the Clement-Talbot-Darracq era. The long front wings and bonnet, usually multi-louvred, highlighted with artful touches of chrome bling, are typical of the era, but these were indeed luxury length. Interiors provided leather-clad, armchair-style seating and ample legroom, with touches of wood and surprising details such as dainty childproof interior locks — a far cry from today’s lozenge boxes.
Paddy, a retired civil and structural engineer, knows his way around a lathe. He has a well-equipped garage-workshop to assist in any machining tasks along with his other passion for restoring classic motorcycles.

The Great River Road

4 July, 2025

A few years ago my family, knowing my fondness for driving, gave me the book Unforgettable Road Trips: Thirty-Six Drives of a Lifetime by Martin Derrick. Most of the road trips listed take less than a day in places like Scotland, Monaco, and Australia, plus one in New Zealand. Most of these places were too far to go just for a short drive but four of them would take several days. My interest was piqued, and those four drives were added to the bucket list. To date, I have done three of them: ‘Route 66’ (USA 21 days), ‘State Highway 6’ (NZ 10 days) and ‘The Great River Road’ (USA 22 days). You can drive all of them in less time, but you could also fly over them. We wanted a decent immersion in their charms.
The great river referred to is the Mississippi. While the name conjures the deep south, the river actually starts at the bottom of the great lakes, before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico about 3800km later. The great road is more of a concept than a specific strip of tarmac, as you can drive down either side of the river on various routes. Regardless of which side you drive, time should be kept aside for detours to places such as Nashville, which is famous for something or other.

Blue Ovals only: Henry Ford Memorial Day Display

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