CORNER STORIES

My mum works as a travel agent and recently had some clients undertake a three-week roadtrip around SA, VIC, and Tassie. The six couples were each renting 2023 300 Series Toyota Landcruisers from Hertz Adelaide, however they finished their trip in Melbourne. The issue was Hertz required for the cars to be returned back to Adelaide, so multiple drivers were required to undertake the trip back ( Melbourne to Adelaide ).  Two mates, my brother and myself volunteered and flew into Melbourne on Wednesday morning. We each had to pick up our car from the hotel the clients were staying at, which ended up being three different ones in the heart of Melbourne - a city much larger  than Adelaide & somewhere I've never driven around. After getting my car, a car much larger  than anything I've driven on road, let alone in a city, I spent some time trying to get my phone hooked up to the infotainment. Frustratingly, you needed the Toyota app downloaded on your phone to get maps o...

I sent author Nick a message teasing that my autism surrounding SA festival state U-plates is getting worse, I'm not even sure if it's a joke anymore. Nick & I both saw this Bluebird at the Waite campus but my photos are better so here it is. Yet another survivor. In terms of speculation I'm going to guess this belongs to someone older whom works for Adelaide University but doesn't teach ( researcher? ). Gut feel, no evidence. The car is on standard rego, which was a surprise.   Some paint peeling off the rear bumper and a small ding on the front left quarter is the noticeable wear&tear. Quite a tidy car otherwise. I'll always try to document the cars that were once regular traffic. The boring but curious survivors, because sooner or later they become endangered species. The ( possibly but unlikely ) endangered Bluebird had all the right bits to just be a car; makeshift dash mat, headlight protectors, aftermarket fog lights, rust protection sticker, ven...

I'll be the first to admit my attraction to Formula One is fairly recent and extremely casual. If the old man is watching I'll sit down, but otherwise I usually have better things to do with my weekend. Relevance? Back in two-thousand&5 and again in oh-six Fernando Alonso won the F1 Drivers and Constructors championship titles with Renault . In what was ( safe to say ) the peak of his career Renault capitalized on the moment and released a limited edition of their Mégane Sport . Behold the Renault Sport Mégane 225 F1 Team Limited Edition ...   The two-litre turbo four-banger hot-hatch is a looker if you take the time to let it sink in.   The seat embroidery classy, and the addition of a ( aftermarket? ) carbon fibre bonnet adds to the visual aggression.   The colour scheme throughout is very attractive especially with the support of the decals. On the push bike headed to work this was certainly an exciting start to the day. Whilst admiring the french auto, monsie...

My brother is in a band called Tonix . They were on tour ( early Feb ) and our Mum decided to watch them play some Victoria shows. I managed to score some time off work and tag along for the drive ( Adelaide - Melb ).  Never turn down a free opportunity to travel. After one the gigs we cut back from the Mornington Peninsula via the Ferry to Sorrento . In doing so we accidentally came across the remnants of a car show - hot rods & such.       We were in a bit of a rush so I did a quick loop before dialing in on a car that held my attention. A lot easier said than done. Considering so many of these cars are both out of my wheel house but also wonderfully distracting, finding just one to document was hard. So what managed to take the cake? For the sake of this post I'll just call it THE FORMULA . Growing up, on the occasion I did see an Aussie classic I'd get my old man's ten cents. Most of the time that just meant he'd tell me a car was a bomb, fuel thirsty or...

Tow Rig 1   So we gave Largs a miss and tried our luck at Brighton jetty this week. VL bloke never called to sell ( unsurprising ).  Once setup I decided to pop into the local Vietnamese joint to grab some spring-rolls. On the way back that I would glance across the street to spot Tow Rig 2 .     By comparison the VL was completely shit. Sure it had a manual box behind a breathless Japanese six but the blue oval was just a million times cleaner.     The Fairmont was a proper minter, stock as. The paint was schmick, headlights and bonnet protector near new, fourteens wrapped with BF goodies still ugly and stickers were legible. Not anymore they ain't.   Okay so the VL is a better looking 6cyl sedan, but the Fairmont was right at home out front the sports bar. Bit of a pattern about where to find these cars emerging.     Either of the eighties U-plate cream machines - when packed with a bunch of mates, and the tinny off the back seems to be...