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Thirteen years already! January 20th and 21st marked the 13th running of the Kumeu Classic Car and Hot Rod Festival. Kumeu is a western suburb of Auckland which is the largest city in New Zealand. Kumeu is located near the west coast of the North Island.
Essentially the festival is a full-on car party that everybody’s invited to. Hot rods sit next to British classics, restored Aussie Muscle cars share space with low-riders, and as long as your ride’s legal you can roll in, no certificate is required. The outdoor display is a veritable smorgasbord of automotive eye-candy. This year saw over 50,000 in attendance which is the largest show of it’s kind in the southern hemisphere. There were some 2800 public entries which makes this years event the biggest yet.
Each year cars entered in Kumeu’s main indoor display shed get voted on by the public attending the show for the coveted ‘people’s choice’ trophy and prizes. Not only does the winning car get the accolade of being the public’s pick. It is also used on all promotional material for the following years festival: the show poster, fliers, and in all the print advertising. This years winner, Ian Neary, from Panmure, Auckland, wowed the crowds with his mix of old and new built into his 1959 Skyliner. Ian, a panel beater by trade bought the car pictured in shot numbers 123, 124, 127, 132 and 150 in 2002 and said he has put almost 4 years at 40 to 60 hours a week to complete the job. He finished the car just 3 nights before the show in Kumeu.
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