''NZ Classic Car'' is a monthly automotive magazine that has been published since December 1990. Its first issue was January 1991. The magazine also has an associated website that covers all things related to classic and historic cars, events, clubs, and related car culture in New Zealand and to a lesser extent Australia.

History

It was the first magazine to be published after the inception of Parkside Publishing by Gregory and Carolyn Vincent. The publication began as a simple idea to put local classic car owners in touch with shows, events, car clubs and trade professionals. The people chosen to write for the magazine, and to highlight the local classic car scene, were passionate about the subject, and were generally classic car owners themselves. It is one of the longest running motoring magazines in New Zealand and is the third biggest selling car magazine behind

NZ Performance Car NZ Performance Car is a monthly automobile magazine and website, and is the biggest selling automotive and men's lifestyle magazine in New Zealand. As Parkside Media's second title, it has eclipsed the success of NZ Classic Car. NZ Perfor ...

and NZ Autocar. The magazine celebrated its 200th issue in August 2007. Originally in black and white newsprint format the magazine is now glossy and bound. The magazine and its contributors act as a voice for, and stand up for the rights of, people who want to enjoy classic and historic motoring. It has also featured many New Zealand motorsport personalities whose stories would have otherwise been forgotten or ignored, including

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Robbie Francevic Robert James Frančević, (born on 18 September 1941 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a retired racing driver who featured prominently in New Zealand and Australia during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest wins were the inaugural Wellington 500 street r ...

Ron Roycroft Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

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Johnny Riley Johnny Riley (born 22 June 1939) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. Playing career Riley was a St. George Junior player, and came into grade in 1959, and played alongside the great Re ...

, Ken Smith,

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, and Howden Ganley. A NZ Classic Car Yearbook is published just before Christmas. Five special issues on New Zealand motorsport and motoring history have also been published. ''NZ Classic Cars offices are in

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...

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, New Zealand.

Government policy

The magazine is one of several that are recognised authorities by the New Zealand Government for defining a classic car or special interest vehicle and is usually mentioned in policy documents relating to transport changes that will affect classic and historic cars by

Land Transport New Zealand Land Transport New Zealand was a Crown entity in New Zealand, tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, and includes responsibilities such as driver and vehicle licensing. It was created on 1 December 2004 by the Land Transpor ...

Magazine contents

As of the November 2008 issue, the typical magazine contents include: *Feature car reviews (including old vs new comparisons and group tests) *Historic photographs (predominantly of New Zealand's motoring history) *Event overviews (such as historic racing, concours, etc.) *

Car and SUV A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

news (new car news) *Short high-end car reviews (e.g.

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars and SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded as Bentley Motors Limited by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Cricklewood, North ...

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

and the like) *Editor and contributor columns *

Crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the answ ...

*Scale model reviews *Book reviews *Events calendar *Readers' letters *Reader classifieds *Restoration project *Mystery car

Website

Daily news articles are available weekdays which are additional to magazine content. Full magazine articles are available from previous issues, often including additional photos and information (including videos) that could not be fitted into the magazine. Some writers run blogs on the website, and a forum is run as a subsite to encourage user interaction. Users can purchase books related to classic and historic cars, as well as back issues and subscriptions in the online shop. Crosswords from previous issues are loaded online.

Editorial staff

The first editor of NZ Classic Car was Greg Vincent, the owner of Parkside Media. He passed editorial responsibility over in about 2000 (issue 101) to Allan Walton who had been with the magazine since its inception. Walton was well known in the classic motoring scene having been involved with classic cars since the early 1980s. Walton co-authored – along with acclaimed Christchurch photographer, Terry Marshall – Looking Back: The Motorsport Photography of Terry Marshall, a photo-book highlighting New Zealand motorsport from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Controversy

NZ Classic Car has argued for the continued enjoyment of classic and historic cars by their owners. This has occasionally seen it make submissions to New Zealand government that may not be considered to be the most environmentally friendly options. NZ Classic Car argued to keep leaded petrol, and for exemptions on exhaust emissions for classic cars.

Support of Targa in New Zealand

NZ Classic Car supported and sponsored

Targa New Zealand The Targa New Zealand is a tarmac rally held annually on public roads typically throughout the North Island of New Zealand. The main Targa each year begins in the last week of October and is a week-long event which covers around 1500 km of tour ...

from the first running in 1995. NZ Classic Car and Targa parted ways after the 2006 event.

Intermarque Concours d'Elegance

Located at Ellerslie Racecourse, the Intermarque Concours d'Elegance runs every February. Held in

, it is New Zealand's largest concours event. NZ Classic Car has had a presence at every event since 1991, and since 2004 has been the event's main sponsor.

Awards

Long-time contributor Trevor Stanley-Joblin, and publisher Greg Vincent have both been recipients of the Meguiar's Collector's Car Person of the Year Award.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''NZ Classic Car'' website
1990 establishments in New Zealand Automotive industry in New Zealand Automobile magazines Automotive websites Magazines established in 1990 Magazines published in New Zealand Monthly magazines published in New Zealand