Rattle ya dags and get yourself to Fieldays

15 June, 2017

It’s that time of year again where what seems like every ute in the country converges on Mystery Creek in Hamilton for Fieldays. 2017 sees the biggest event yet with hundreds of companies spruiking their wares to the masses of visitors that’ll pass through the gates of Mystery Creek over the coming days.


The scale of the event is immense. 

The scale of the event is immense. 

Unfortunately, I’m afflicted with city slicker-itis which renders most of the products on display useless in my day-to-day life. But like any good Kiwi bloke with an imagination and an internet connection, I can dream of joining the farming fraternity. I can look at pieces of land and half million dollar tractors imagining I know the difference between a post hole borer and a cow.


The Isuzu D-Max demonstrating its 49 degree hill-crawling capabilities.

The Isuzu D-Max demonstrating its 49 degree hill-crawling capabilities.

Of course, I was interested in was the cars, and there are plenty to choose from. Some new manufacturers have gone all out in putting together amazing stands for the event. This is not only an opportunity to show off new models and their current range, but to do get in amongst the community and speak with current and prospective customers.


Toyota are taking their relationship with Swanndri seriously.

Toyota are taking their relationship with Swanndri seriously.


Volkswagen have jumped on the "clothing your car" bandwagon, too. 

Volkswagen have jumped on the “clothing your car” bandwagon, too. 


7,000kg towing capacity on show from the now right hand drive Dodge Ram.

7,000kg towing capacity on show from the now right hand drive Dodge Ram.

I was also impressed by the number of classic and race cars companies were using on their stand, be it a sponsored race car or a tidy old ute


Coresteel Brute taking pride of place

Coresteel Brute taking pride of place


Kombi pickup in stunning condition

Kombi pickup in stunning condition

For the actual farmers among us, there is certain to be some value adds for every part of your operation so we encourage you to head to Mystery Creek and get amongst the action. The event is running until this Saturday so you’d best rattle ya dags!

For more information, visit www.fieldays.co.nz

Lunch with … Cary Taylor

Many years ago — in June 1995 to be more precise — I was being wowed with yet another terrific tale from Geoff Manning who had worked spanners on all types of racing cars. We were chatting at Bruce McLaren Intermediate school on the 25th anniversary of the death of the extraordinary Kiwi for whom the school was named. Geoff, who had been part of Ford’s Le Mans programme in the ’60s, and also Graham Hill’s chief mechanic — clearly realising that he had me in the palm of his hand — offered a piece of advice that I’ve never forgotten: “If you want the really good stories, talk to the mechanics.”
Without doubt the top mechanics, those involved in the highest echelons of motor racing, have stories galore — after all, they had relationships with their drivers so intimate that, to quote Geoff all those years ago, “Mechanics know what really happened.”

ROTARY CHIC

Kerry Bowman readily describes himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Citroën fan and a keen Citroën Car Club member. His Auckland home holds some of the chic French cars and many parts. He has also owned a number of examples of the marque as daily drivers, but he now drives a Birotor GS. They are rare, even in France, and this is a car which was not supposed to see the light of day outside France’s borders, yet somehow this one escaped the buyback to be one of the few survivors out in the world.
It’s a special car Kerry first saw while overseas in the ’70s, indulging an interest sparked early on by his father’s keenness for Citroëns back home in Tauranga. He was keen to see one ‘in the flesh’.
“I got interested in this Birotor when I bought a GS in Paris in 1972. I got in contact with Citroën Cars in Slough, and they got me an invitation to the Earls Court Motor Show where they had the first Birotor prototype on display. I said to a guy on the stand, ‘I’d like one of these,’ and he said I wouldn’t be allowed to get one. Citroën were building them for their own market to test them, and they were only left-hand drive.”