We’re blessed in Australia that it seems as if, entering the final weeks of 2020, COVID-19 is a background event to be wary of, rather than the pandemic that gripped our lifestyles earlier in the year.
In NSW and other states across the country, restrictions are easing and the sense of normality is coming back. With this brings the core of the automotive lifestyle, meets and events.
It’s safe to say that Australia’s automotive scene took a hit in 2020. There was the early cancellation of WTAC stemming from the threat of Coronavirus before it became the situation it was, and of course as we entered varying stages of precaution there were no meets or events through the winter months.
That’s what made the two all-Honda events this past weekend so gratifying. Take the vehicles out of the equation, nobody really cared about that. Just like many aspects of society throughout this challenging year, COVID-19 was an opportunity to reset, prioritise what really matters and seek depth and substance in our experiences.
Sydney Honda Club x The Artistry
Sydney Honda Club hosted their end-of-year event in collaboration with The Artistry on the Saturday. The venue itself was great, a little out of the way for a lot of enthusiasts but I don’t think many were complaining given the opportunity to stretch their vehicle’s legs to round off the year.
Paolo and the team have done a magnificent job in bringing in and engaging fresh blood into the Honda community, and what a feeling it was seeing old and new chassis receiving love from younger enthusiasts. Unfortunately, both Peter and I were time-restricted on the day, so were unable to involve ourselves with the proceedings!
In collaboration with WeStance.Worldwide, the event drew the attention from a lot of stance- and street-based builds. Big dish, loads of stretch and credit card clearance was the name of the game, the show’s awards reflected the club’s key audience.
What I will find intriguing moving forward for Paolo and the club is how the youth of today and tomorrow will engage with newer Hondas as the older chassis make less and less sense as a viable entry-level option.
This year’s private sale prices for 25-year old grocery getters have become silly, and for a high school leaver there surely must be better options moving forward. Civics, Integras, and even CL9s aren’t complete value-for-money bargains they once were, and with the values skyrocketing, it’s unlikely they’ll ever come back down.
Are the newer Hondas offered in Australia as attractive as those that the previous generations have built? Perhaps we just need another anime to bring them to life… time will tell.
ClubITR x Benzin Cafe
From the upstarts to the O.Gs, Felix organised the only ClubITR meet of 2020 almost exactly a year to the day they helped Benzin Cafe open up. We had a quick chat on Sunday morning, and we both agreed that despite the change in lifestyles for so many ClubITR members as priorities in life shift, this event proved to show the strong community spirit that was fostered over many years.
Naturally a different, older demographic, there were significantly more long term builds at Dural, vehicles that had been looked after by their owners for prolonged periods of time. Street and track (I’m including hardparkers in here, hahaha) were out in force, and Felix’s two-part approach of morning and afternoon catered for a natural flow to traffic in the carpark.
You may leave the Honda game, but the Honda game never leaves you, and our morning at Benzin with ClubITR nails this to a tee. We diversify our vehicle interests, “grow out” of driving econoboxes, or simply acquire cars out of the box that don’t require modification, but the spirit of VTEC life, the attention to detail and love of aesthetic remains.
Truth be told, the surge in JDM values is predominantly driven by owners that fit into the ClubITR profile. JDM is the new muscle car, vehicles tinged with nostalgia and the experiences and emotions of our youth.
We built them when we were young, or lusted for the halo models as early drivers, and now with the financial resources available, we can construct them again to our ideal specifications, or finally take the plunge and grab that dream car. Supply and demand dictates the rest, forget about the whole “new cars aren’t the same” argument.
We saw this firsthand at ClubITR. It’s a little strange that all of us lose our minds over a clean, unmodified Phoenix Yellow DC2R with 250 000KM, the duty of care given by the owner made him a god. Forget the checklist of mods, keeping it clean is priority number one now.
Honda culture remains incredibly healthy in Australia, we continue to remix the glory of yesteryear while new directions and options continue to make themselves available. The levels of engagement remain high for the marque. While other clubs and manufacturer groups have dropped off somewhat, the likes of Felix and Paolo continue to put the work in to ensure that VTEC doesn’t die.
I’d love to see the NSW Honda scene take on a more focused approach in 2021, the SoCal guys have it down with VTEC Club. Now is the time to introduce something exciting and innovative, the community is there and the showings over the weekend reveal that the physical engagement can be finessed into something special…
Let’s make it happen!