Caffeine and Classics to celebrate fifth anniversary

16 February, 2018

Caffeine and Classics is a brunch-style event held on the last Sunday of every month, and open to all types of classic vehicles. Motorcycles, hot rods, muscle cars, vintage and classic cars are all welcome to come along for a coffee, and to have a look at the wide variety of vehicles that are present.

The event is held from 10am to 12pm at Smales Farm car park, Northcote Rd, Takapuna, beside the motorway, and just 5km north of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. There is plenty of easy parking.

Caffeine and Classics has become New Zealand’s biggest monthly meet. With numbers ranging from 350 to over 1000 vehicles every month, it is a great place for like-minded enthusiasts to get together.

For the fifth anniversary celebrations on February 25 there will be a free gift upon entry of a high visibility, reflective safety triangle (approx. value of $20) for the first 500 vehicles, kindly supplied by Dura Seal. The organizers of Caffeine & Classics support safe motoring, and believe that all cars should carry a safety triangle to alert traffic of an accident or broken down vehicle, and what better way to achieve this than to give one away. Thanks Dura Seal!
So come and join in. All car and bike enthusiasts are welcome.

For more information visit facebook.com/caffeineandclassics.

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.

Caffeine and Classics to celebrate fifth anniversary

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