Paula and Craig Jamieson’s caravan persuasion

30 January, 2017

Paula and Craig Jamieson never set out to own a retro caravan. What they really wanted was a hot rod, but they couldn’t find one that suited them. Then a few friends started getting into caravanning, so they began looking at them as well.

It wasn’t long before Paula and Craig found the perfect caravan. They drove to pick her up the next day, and were not disappointed. It had nothing that they had on their must-have list, and yet somehow ticked all the boxes anyway! Now that they had the perfect caravan, it was time to make it their own.

But, they were still missing something — a suitable tow vehicle. After a Sunday sushi run, Paula returned with a 1955 Packard, ‘The Four Hundred’, restored by Duffy Hannah from Rotorua.

Have a look at a few additional photos that didn’t make it into the feature in the February issue of New Zealand Classic Car (Issue No. 314) — grab your copy now to read the full story.

Grab a print copy of the mag now!

Motorman – The saga of the Temple Buell Maseratis

30 January, 2026

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

15 January, 2026

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.

Paula and Craig Jamieson’s caravan persuasion

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