In December last I had the pleasure and the joy of taking part in two immensely enjoyable classic car events which were distinctly different from each other and yet they were so typical of the unseen umbilical cord that binds us enthusiasts to the cause. The first event was a glorious drive in the 1000 Miglia Xperience UAE where almost a hundred plus crews drove as many great classic and vintage cars in the manner they are to be driven across the seven Emirates making up the UAE plus also a foray into neighbouring Oman. What it did was to open many eyes to the fact that great cars need not be lame ducks masquerading as garage queens but yes, their owners need to be stout of heart and mind to have their precious rolling sculptures getting serious road time.
It is here that I want to make my first point. There are many in our country who have great cars, but they don’t get to put in serious miles as they do elsewhere. Sure, there are issues with parts availability, skill sets for keeping the old dowagers in fine fettle, weak hearts and minds, this latter point more in sync with illogical interpretation of rules and such by the roads and traffic authorities and what have you. I think India deserves to have events like these for it has great cars from the dawn of the automobile and to keep them caged is doing a big disservice to the heritage automotive cause.
The second event I did was closer to home and a thoroughly enjoyable short and snappy heritage drive organised by the very progressive and immensely enthusiastic bunch at the Goa Vintage & Classic Vehicle Club (GVCVC) to coincide with the Goa Liberation Day celebrations on 19 December. This event was organised with the unstinted backing of the Directorate of Transport, state of Goa and it was a terrific meeting of minds where anyone with a great classic car as well as Indian heritage vehicles shared the tarmac and the limelight in equal measure on the same platform with their being no class divide. It was a true example of democratization of our movement, and we need more and more events like this. Assemble early morning with a greet and meet followed by a short 25-30km drive through easy open roads (very important this aspect for we don’t want to burden these beautiful machines in the stop-go of dense traffic) followed by a great brunch and then head for home! To top it all, to have Mauvin H Godinho, the Minister of Industries, Trade & Road Transport, in attendance all throughout the event showed his commitment to the cause. Here is where I would like all our car clubs to try and sell the heritage vehicle concept and not just their event for that is what will see many more outings materialize and we also help the powers that be see sense in the industrial heritage of our country.
Finally, both these events highlighted the fact that we just do not seem to get past classic car timelines and then forget about cars post the classic car timeline (which is loosely fixed anywhere between 1960 and 1970 these days depending on the event organiser). In the same breath I do hear about inception of an Indian Heritage Class which is most welcome, but we need to draw some timelines for vehicles 30- to 40-year-old and get them lined up for events. The lack of uniform standardised thought on their classification is telling and every classic car club in the land refuses to speak with each other on the subject. And in the rare case they do, they “tell” rather than “speak” and their priceless ego does the movement more harm than good. Is it too much to ask of our so-called vintage and classic car elders to shun ego and position and control and unite in the thought process for saving the heritage vehicle movement from the piranha-type illogicals in the corridors of power who can’t see reason beyond the tip of their noses? If this isn’t done, you gentlemen will be condemning all heritage vehicles to be garage queens sooner rather than later and you don’t want to be the crown jesters hastening this process with inaction, do you?
The time has come to kick start an initiative of neo-retro classics or young timers and this needs to be done and cast in stone before it is too late.
