For the love of cars

Last weekend we had a great time at the “Taste of Taralga” – a country festival celebrating 200 years of this vibrant little country town. Amongst the myriad of things to see was a gathering of classic cars, proudly lining the town’s main street – and I was like a kid in a candy store. 

One car I especially remember from when I was a little girl was the Holden Monaro. Ours was blue, and I’m always drawn to them when I see them at a meeting of classic cars – it’s surprising how many are the same blue! Sure enough, I was thrilled to see a blue Monaro, parked outside the town’s museum. It’s like seeing a blurred memory suddenly become clear as you take in the dashboard, the door handles, the leather seats, all those things that, once upon a time, were every day. 

I remember when Holden in later years had the temerity to introduce a ‘new’ Monaro, trying to gain traction from the love the population had for the original. “That is NOT a Monaro!” I would emphatically declare each time I saw the ad for it. In my eyes, the modern Monaro lacked personality – something I bemoan about the majority of contemporary vehicles.

With thanks to coconv for this shot.

I found this tiny pic of the old and new - the original Monaro and the 2001 model. All I could think of was "Nobody puts Baby in the corner". Give the me original any day. 

As I write this post I happen to be visiting my Dad, who these days lives in Queensland, about a twelve hour drive from me. As I was asking him a question about the Monaro, he mentioned he had a photo of it on the wall of his workshop – perfect timing as I’m here and writing this post! 

This is my dad (on the right) and my uncle, standing in front of our memorable Monaro at my grandmother's house. They're displaying their model planes, a hobby they still share to this day. My aunt is watching on and if you look to the far right, you can just catch sight of a five year old me running up the front steps. It was 1969.

The fondness I have for classic cars is probably generational. Both my grandfathers were mechanics. My maternal grandfather was in charge of the vehicle fleet for what was then the St George County Council, who he was with for 49 ½ years before ill health forced his retirement. He had taken over the role at the Council from his own father, also a mechanic. It’s hard to imagine jobs for life like that today.  My father was a mechanic, as was my stepfather, and my mother was always crazy about cars too. The Australian love affair with the car was writ large in our family.

As I grew up in a ‘Holden’ home, it was only natural that Peter Brock was a very popular figure to us during the Holden versus Ford era of Australian motor racing. He drove a series of yummy Toranas, my favourite being the LJ. (No doubt helped along by an older boy that I had a huge crush on who drove a gold one). 

With thanks to Lloyds auctions for the above image. 

Every time I see one on the road I think about how much I would love one – but not sure how I’d go driving any car without power steering today! But I can dream. A red one, please.

The Holden versus Ford battles dominated Australian motor racing for many years. It’s only in very recent years that both companies have closed down their Australian operations, meaning that the country with such a love affair with the motor car no longer manufactures its own.

Because Ford was the enemy in our household, Peter Brock’s contemporary and Ford's number one driver, Alan Moffat, was very much a hated man. Yet it is impossible to forget Ford’s 1-2 finish at Bathurst in 1977, with Moffat finishing first and Colin Bond as runner up driving the number 2 car. (I was not at all happy with Mr Bond at the time as he’d previously been a Holden man. Such loyalties mattered at my young age!). What Bathurst fan could forget the view from the Channel 7 helicopter, showing the cars heading down the straight to the Ford victory? 

With thanks to Australian Muscle Car Mag for this pic

Despite his villain status, four time Bathurst winner Alan Moffat was an extremely talented and competitive driver, and it is sad to see him not enjoying the best of health today. It says something for the camaraderie of the motor racing fraternity that they are at the forefront of his ongoing care, most notably past rivals and team mates Larry Perkins and Fred Gibson.

Alan Moffat was the big wheel in Ford until a fella by the name of Dick Johnson came along to assume Ford’s mantle of hero. Bathurst fans will well remember the year when he brought his Tru-Blu Ford Falcon to race, making short work of a strong field until a boulder ended up on the track making short work of he and his car! The crash almost claimed a track marshall, who had to jump the fence for his life.

Frightening stuff! 

Whilst Johnson was devastated at the shocking turn of events, having mortgaged his home to fund his tilt at the Bathurst crown, the Australian public stepped in and donated enough money to make good his investment – funds that were matched by Edsel Ford II for the Ford Motor Company in the United States. (I am a Holden girl all the way, but I’m proud to this day that I raided my pocket money to contribute).  When you consider the gravitas that Dick Johnson now holds within the history of Australian motor sport, I don’t think even the most imaginative of scriptwriters could have come up with such a beginning.

With thanks to the Supercars website for the Dick Johnson pics. 

If you want to watch the whole story, here it is  

There are so many other memories, and I expect that this weekend’s Bathurst 1000 will provide a whole host more. For me though, this year I will have to be satisfied with radio or internet updates as hubby and I will be road tripping home from Queensland on the day of the big race. It will seem weird to not see any of it, but perhaps that’s a good reason for a pub stop along the way – one with a big TV screen.

In my usual style I'll finish with a fitting song for this post - what could be more perfect than a band called The Cars and a song called Drive?

Tracey 🚘

With thanks to all these guys ...

7 News Flashback (2009), Dick Johnson hits ‘The Rock’ in 1980, Seven Network, Sydney

coconv for the photo of the two Monaros
Motoring.com.au for Racing legend battling dementia
Muscle Car Mag for photos of the 1-2 finish.
Supercars.com for Dick Johnson photos 
The YouTube channel of DickJohnsonRacing 
The YouTube channel of Lloyds Auctions for Peter Brock's 1972 Holden Torana XU1.
The YouTube channel of Rhino for The Cars - Drive (Official Music Video) 
The YouTube channel of Supercars for Awesome Bathurst Moment #48, When Ford crushed Holden with a 1-2.  

Apologies for the weirdness in font size throughout this post - not sure how it happens. Variety is the spice of life?