Build Your Own Sports Car In NZ

Building your own sports car?  It is not as hard as you imagine!

Our friend, Brian Worboys (that's him in the picture) told us about The Constructor's Car Club  (CCC) in New Zealand.

According to their web site...

"The Constructors's Car Club was founded in 1988 by a small number of enthusiasts who were interested in building a vehicle either from scratch or from a kit, but were concerned by the rumours of impending legislation and the impact it may have on their hobby.

The club they formed went on to become one of the 10 founding clubs of the Low Volume Vehicle Technical Association (LVVTA), the body entrusted with New Zealand’s modified and custom built vehicle certification system.

25 years on and the Wellington based club has over 160 members, with approximately 40% scattered throughout New Zealand. 

NZ Roads Hard On Performance Tyres!

I need two new tyres for my Lancer VRX Sportback AGAIN!!

My work colleague Nigel Roper took this picture of me and my "new" VRX the day I got it.  It was 21/12/2010 – 11:41 AM :)  The Lancer already clocked 10,050 Km when I bought it, because of that I got a whooping big discount for it ;)

Prima Facie - Honda Civic EURO

The Civic sedan, Le General with little Ming-N in 1988.

I was a sucker for Honda Civic, when we landed on this shores of Aeotearoa; my first car was a second-hand white Honda Civic sedan.

It was a really boring sedan, 1.6L; 12 vales; get you from A to B but boring, boring; boring ;)

 A few months later, I traded the borer for a new two door Civic 1.5...

The two door 1.5 Civic, me with family and friend in Auckland, 1989.

WWW On A Plate!

Two years ago I found out the most expensive Malaysian registration number plate, MCA 1 was sold for RM300,000 (NZ$119,168) in 2010!

For those who don't know, in Malaysia the license plate format consists of one or more letters (the first letter(s) serving as a vehicle or location prefix) followed by up to four numerical digits with no leading zeros.

The location prefix start with a letter of the alphabet defining one of its states where the vehicles are registered, for example; cars in Penang island carried plates with prefix "P" and "M" are cars registered in Malacca.

Going Out Station In My Lancer VRX Sportback

In case you are wondering what "Going Out Station" mean, it is the Malaysian way of saying "going out of town"; or taking a longish drive to another town.  ;)

If you read my "Family Week End @ Napier", you knew that we drove more than 680 km to Napier and back in my Lancer VRX Sportback.

Mind you, I only drove half way there and May-N drove the rest and all the way back.

So how did the VRX performed on a long trip?

My VRX Sportback on top of Te Mata Peak, Napier.

Drove Your VRX AMBULANCE Lately?!!

I think this news should win the "You gotta be kidding!" award!

No, I am NOT kidding ;)

Heading in our local newspaper today...

Cars registered as ambulances to save cash!

The news item went on to report:

Motorists are claiming their vehicles are ambulances to save hundreds of dollars in registration fees.

The problem is particularly bad in Otago, where 230 ambulances are registered, nearly as many as in Auckland, where there are 10 times as many people, the Otago Daily Times reported today.

A Matter-Of-Fact-Spoke-Person of the New Zealand Transport Agency media manager Andy Knackstedt said he believed there were only 40 genuine ambulances in Dunedin.

He believed, but he is NOT sure; there might be MORE? ;)

"I guess it comes down to people's willingness to falsely register their vehicles." DUH!

The REAL Wellington Free Ambulance (WFA) provides free to the patient, ambulance services in the Wellington Region of New Zealand.

My Lancer VRX Sportback

In My Auto Love Affair post I promised to tell you how my Lancer VRX Sportback drive and behave, so here...

Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand offer SIX Lancer variants.

Starting from the plain Jane ES Manual to the hot RALLIART Turbo, there is a choice for different drivers.

The Lancer ES (top left), the VR (top right) and the RALLIART.

My New Remade Personalised Plates

Two days ago I placed an on line order for a remake of my car's personalised plates to replace the "old" one.

It cost me NZ$20.95 for the remake plates and NZ$9.20 for courier, total; NZ$30.15. I could have saved $9.20 if I waited a day or two for the plates to arrive through "normal" air mail ;)

Well, at least I do not have to pay a whopping RM300,000 (NZ$127,908) by some Malaysian for a political car plate!

This morning I found this slim cardboard box outside of my front door.

My address was blur-out by me, duh ;)

MCA 1 plate taken in NZ ;)

This morning, I read with amusement this news item from Malaysia:

Melaka RTD to collect RM1.5m for ‘MCA’ licence plates

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 – The tender results for car licence plates bearing registration numbers from MCA 1 to MCA 9999 will be put up for public viewing at the Melaka Road Transport Department (RTD) starting tomorrow.

The Transport Ministry in a statement today, said the results would also be made available at the department’s website at www.jpj.gov.my.

A total of 965 tender applications for the MCA car licence plates were received between November 24 and December 15.

“MCA 1 received the highest bid price of RM300,100, followed by MCA 2 at RM101,000 and MCA 8 at RM88,168,” the statement said.

♡ My Auto Love Affair ♡

I love ♡♡♡♡♡ my Mitsubishi Lancer!

Fast rewind to 1977, when we were all young and beautiful; it was during that time when the newspaper where we worked, "went national" and I had to packed my bags and took my two loves to Kuala Lumpur.

Those were the tough, exciting; and challenging days. We met them head on and looking back, we love it ;)

My "two loves", my young general (we just got married) and the Lancer EL (1,200); first car that I bought with my hard earned cash, a year before we got transferred to Kuala Lumpur.

I remember fondly those KL days when both of us missed Penang so badly that we drove home every week!

Getting Personal

According to Malaysia Today, it seems that the obsession for a nice number plate in Malaysia is hitting fever pitch with the latest ‘TAY 1’ hitting six figures. According to the Terengganu RTD (Road Transport Department), that number plate received RM220,000 (NZ$94,607.00); the highest bid in the country ever!

POOR-RICH Malaysians! Are they mad? Or are they willing suckers for the RTD?

Well, in New Zealand you could have got that plate today through "Plates.co.nz" for NZ$ 799.00 (RM1,858.00). The amount paid for the Malaysian plate can buy you a Ferrari to wear that plate!!

When I check at the on line site today. "TAY 1" was taken but you can have "TAYONE" for the same amount, as a matter of fact you can have any combination you want as long as it is available for NZ$799.00!

Not only that, NZ Plates offer various design options! For instance, your TAYONE can be:

Zoom Zoom zoom!

The second generation Mazda3 has been launched in New Zealand, and is set to go on sale on 1 May, said the motor news.

Strangely enough it did not excite me at all! Being a "petrol head" all my life, is this a sure sign of old age?

Five years ago when the first gen appeared, I was so excited and went and bought one of the first few available!