Boycott call doesn't take shine off Americarna

The star-spangled banner is flying proudly in Taranaki this week as Americarna - the annual celebration of chrome and the internal-combustion engine - takes over the province.

More than 750 gas guzzlers are taking part in the event, but not every aficionado of classic automobiles is necessarily a fan of car polish.

Mike and Shelly Bowen had brought their 1959 Chevy Apache pick-up across from Whangamata.

But there was something odd about this popular classic ... there was no chrome or gleaming paint work.

"So, this just looks total patina. So, it's the original colour it was when it came out from the States and we just put a product over the top of it to keep it from rusting any further and it's an oil called patina sauce.

"So we just keep it like that. It's good for us and our family because we've got kids and dogs and we can park it in the shed and they can jump all over it and it doesn't matter. It just adds to it."

"It looks like Tow Mater from the movie Cars without the tow hook. It's rough and rustic. That's on the outside, but underneath it's as shiny as anything else here, it's brand new."

Dave Jeffrey had driven 'Isabella Ratrod' up from Christchurch.

It's part Dodge, but more Mad Max than American Graffiti.

"I built it out of bits and pieces of cars I didn't run over with my diggers way back when just seeing if I could make a car out of seven or eight different cars.

"There's no real one main component. It's just bits of each different car just to make up one."

He left polishing to others.

"Nah, I like watching them polishing them. There was four us that came up and they were all frantically washing their cars this morning. I sort of wet it slightly and that was it."

Mark Johnson was in the other camp.

"We've got a '62 Mercury Monterey that we're just clearing all the bugs off from the trip down from Auckland."

He'd been at it a while.

"Yeah, probably 45 minutes now and we're probably not past the windscreen yet."

He was unapologetic.

"I prefer nice shiny factory looking cars, but Dave's probably the smart one because he doesn't have to polish his all the time."

And proud.

"This is a 62 two-door hardtop. There was just over 4700 of these made in the day and this is the only two-door hardtop registered in New Zealand. We've also got a four-door Mercury Monterey and there's only four registered in New Zealand, so it's a pretty rare car."

Event organiser John Rae said Americarna - which was in its 16th year - was going from strength to strength.

"With our district, the way it's positioned, you know. New Plymouth, Waitara and Inglewood, Opunake and Hāwera. It's all easy driving, close proximity.

"The public come out and support it big time and the entrants really like all the school kids and the families everywhere. It just works. For whatever reason, it just works."

But not everyone was behind the event. Climate Justice Taranaki, Palestine Solidarity Taranaki and the Better Streets Project issued a joint press release calling for a boycott of Americarna.

Climate Justice Taranaki's Catherine Cheung said the planet was well past the point where celebrations of car culture were acceptable.

"We've got to move on to public transport or more active transport and be much less reliant on fossil fuels and this is one of those events that is promoting the use of cars."

But Rae was not buying it.

"We're only here for a short time not a long time. Yeah, I'm well aware of the implications of climate change, but these people make all this noise and yet they drive in cars, fly in aeroplanes, use cellphones have computers. They have all the modern nicknacks made out of petroleum products."

He said the event acknowledged iconic vehicles which were a part of history and nothing more.

Americarna wraps up on Saturday with a family fun day in New Plymouth