EASTERN CAPE REGION Show Day at Maritime Motors

By Fabian Cairns

ehaveoftenwonderedwhatWit must have felt like back in the day to walk into a dealership filledwiththecarsofthatera.

Well,ifyouwereattheopenday hosted by Martime Motors in collaboration with the Mercedes Benz Club of South Africa, your dreamwould'vecometrue!

On 1 April 2023 the Eastern Cape region got together in full strength and brought out some of theirmostpreciousvehicles.

The vehicles on display ranged from the 1950s to the 1990s in all shapesandcolours.

The morning started off very wellwiththeweatherplayinginour favour. Martime Motors kindly organised a coffee station and muffins, so members and the general public had a comfortable starttotheday

With old beauties dominating the floor, there was also some space allocated to newer models. AbrandnewS500graceduswithits presence,alongwiththenewrange ofEQ(electric)cars.

Philip Stucken (whose father Rudi Stucken was the founding owner of Maritime Motors in 1958) was present on the day. Martime Motors is still a family-owned dealership, one of the few left in SouthAfrica.

Philip was very impressed with the range of vehicles on display, which brought back many memories of the cars which made their way through the dealership doorsovertime.

One car in particular had a major impact on Mr Stucken and the dealership staff: a W114 280 which belongs to club member MeguelGonzalez.

The car was originally ordered through Maritime Motors in 1973, withararefactoryfittedsunroof.It’s still in original condition with the dealershiplogoontherearwindow and boasting a low mileage of 52 000km from new. This 114 had returned home, to the dealership flooritoncestoodon50yearsago.

MyselfandFabianCairnswould like to thank all the club members who supported this open day. Furthermore, a gracious thank you is given to Philip Stucken and Martime Motors for their support anddedication.■

Die Walskipper outing

By Fabian Cairns

Athe Eastern Cape, stick to the plan. What started off looking like an awful day (weather wise) to get the classic ladies out on the road, turned out to be a great day for a cruise.

s is usual with the weather in

We organised a monthly lunch ride out to the “Walskipper” near Jefferies Bay, which makes for a good drive and a nice distance to stretchtheoldgals’legs.

We met up at the usual spot at the EPVCC, and while we hoped for morepeeps,thethreatofrainkepta coupleoftheusualsathome,there werestillenoughofustomakefora fundrive.

We headed out on the N2 and, in wanting to keep it interesting, decidedtoturnoffandtaketheold road through the Van Stadens valley The road is in reasonable condition, a little bumpy in places, butsmoothenoughforspritelygals totesttheirroadholding...aswellas their drivers’ cornering abilities. This made for a very interesting timeoncertainbendsandclimbs.

We finally arrived at the “Walskipper”andgotanicesurprise whereafewfolkhaddecidedtojoin us and had driven through in their dailies. The restaurant is unique in that it’s literally on the beach; so ditch those shoes and off you go to your tables, where the soft sand and the benches can be quite a challenge;andtestyourbalance.

Nonetheless, good chatter and friendship, great food the weather playing ball, made for a lovely outing.

After lunch, we all headed back onthefreewaytoPEbutnotbefore we had some entertainment with a fellow in a pimped out Mustang making some noise in the parking lot. We decided to remain composed and didn't rise to the challenge.

As always, fantastic support from the members for which we thankyou.■