Taranaki is shifting into high gear this week as Americarna kicks off.
The celebration of American car culture is a yearly fixture in the region and is hugely popular with enthusiasts and novices alike.
Festival organiser John Rae said the whole region was buzzing.
“You just don’t get to see such a large number of old and modern American cars — hot rods and classics — cruising. I can’t explain it. It’s something different. And it’s free for the whole community.”
This year around 750 cars have registered. They travel as a convoy around Taranaki, parking up in various spots so the public can come and take a closer look.
“We start with a nice drive to Opunake, then back and on to Waitara. The next day it’s some nice country roads to Inglewood and the street party park-up there is like nothing else," said Rae. "Friday is Stratford – a short stop — then we go down to South Taranaki, to Hawera. Then we’re back into town for the cruising. Then it’s the big carnival on Saturday.”
Thousands of people line the route — many with picnics — waving and getting plenty of waves back.
“We call it the Americarna calm. The event creates something unique."
Several of the cars have had some attention at Custom Street Rides in Inglewood, where Kevin Walsh and his team make sure the Chevys shine and the Mustangs look mint.
“We restore vehicles and build custom cars,” said Walsh.
“We’ve got a ’58 Buick station wagon. We've got a ‘57 Bel Air we’re doing in here. We have two first-generation Mustangs, and two ‘59 Cadillacs — a two-door and a four-door.
“It just keeps coming, and there's more and more in the pipeline.”
Americarna-buzz
Much of the work was thanks to the Americarna-buzz.
“Americarna is massive for Taranaki, and we’ve fed off the back of that.”
Walsh said despite the economic downturn, there was a huge market for custom cars in New Zealand.
“More so than ever before. We’ve been doing this for 18-20 years and in the last ten we’ve seen that grow. There is that market, the older population of NZ and also the car lovers, which New Zealand is full of anyway.
"They are the ones that have the desire to build or restore a vehicle," he said.
“We're full-on 12 months of the year with this sort of work.”
Rae wasn’t surprised. He agreed that Americarna had been hugely beneficial for the entire Taranaki car scene.
“Custom Street Rides has just exploded. They're building cars, not just for local people, but for people all around New Zealand.“
And he was seeing bigger opportunities on the horizon.
“Someone in New Zealand will get to build a car for an American.
"The hourly rate Kiwis are charging, there is definitely the potential, I think, to entice some work from the US to New Zealand. In America, you're charging $US125 an hour. So, when you take the exchange rate, we have a lot to put forward to the Americans."
Walsh said Custom Street Rides was a one-stop shop.
“We do pretty much everything in-house," he said.
"The guys I have working for me are talented at their trade and they’ve done trades in all different things – some are mechanics, panel beaters, car painters, automotive engineers, coachbuilders, engine rebuilders," he said.
'Have to love cars'
“It’s bespoke work. You have to be talented, and passionate about it as well. They have to love cars, and they do.
“If you're just turning up for the paycheck, it's not the game for you.”
The Americarna event was in its 16th year and featured cars from 1924 up to the present day, with a strong showing from the 50s and 60s.
“The older vehicles are appealing to a lot of people because they don't make them anymore. It's very important they stay on the road. I mean, they’re part of history — they’re art,” insisted Walsh.
And he believed nostalgia was a powerful force.
“As people get older, what appeals to them is what they had as a young person. They get to a point in their life where they can afford to have that vehicle back in their life again.”
But nostalgia was not a university paper, meaning vintage restoration had to be learned on the job.
“The new apprenticeships that you can do in panel beating or mechanics, you'll learn the modern-day vehicles.
“It's super important to this business as well, that our senior tradesmen are handing those skillsets down to the younger guys, otherwise we won’t have a business in 20-30 years,” added Walsh.
Rae said the turnout this year for Americarna was excellent.
Many people couldn't make the event last year due to Cyclone Gabrielle.
“Not this year. There are no floods, no storms. There are some issues with fires in the South Island, which is concerning, but we’re all set for another phenomenal Americarna," he said.
With the 2024 event underway, Rae was already turning his attention to 2025.
“It’s on the back of your mind, honestly, every day," he admitted.
Americarna runs from February 21-24.
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