A touch of nostalgia . . .

Press, 22 May 1986, Page 26

A touch of nostalgia . . .

A decade ago the New Zealand Motor Corporation led local new car sales with a near 22 per cent market share — and its Honda franchise was still to come.

When the locallyassembled Civic did reach the showrooms in March 1976 it carried a $4789 price ticket. Those were the days when British cars such as the Austin Allegro, Maxi, Morris Marina and the Mini, as well as the Triumph 2000, 2500 and Toledo were still around. Japan’s market share had risen to 22 per cent, but Britain was behind half of all new car sales. Even then the Toyota

Corolla was the world’s top-selling model, but in New Zealand it lagged behind Datsun which had succeeded in out-selling General Motors products in one month.

Those were the days when the most expensive six-cylinder Holden cost a shade more than $7OOO, when Ken Smith won the Formula 5000 Peter Stuyvesant series and Jim Richards was starting to show the Australians a thing or two about saloon car racing In his Sidchrome Mustang. They were also the days when one could buy a brand new Jaguar XJ6 for $23,500! Amid a plethora of In-

formation about contemporary cars, served up in full colour on glossy paper, “New Zealand Car,” a new, well-pro-duced monthly magazine, takes a very nostalgic glimpse at the 1976 motoring year.

Whether that will kindle thoughts of better motoring days among the enthusiasts is arguable, for this magazine, edited by the Auckland motoring journalist, Donn Anderson, is chock-full of exciting Information about the current motoring scene. “New Zealand Car” will most likely become required reading for keener motorists.