Time to crank up the old creativity
Martin Doyle
MAYBE it’s my childhood oozing through the cracks but I was absolutely thrilled to see that the real car used in the 1968 movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is now in Wellington. According to reports, it has been bought by Sir Peter Jackson and people have seen him driving it round Seatoun.
When the movie first showed, it was like witnessing magic in the ordinary mechanical world around us. A poor inventor buys some old car wreck and rebuilds it with a mix of sound automotive mechanics, ‘Number 8 fencing wire’ adaptability, and what-the-hell creativity. And what a result... a great, beautiful beast of a vintage touring car that could drive along the road, float, fly and (as it proved) save lives.
Recent photos show its big boiler-like bonnet, red wheels and varnished wooden bodywork. It’s got pipes and things on the running board, and no roof: so as you drive along, you need your leather skull-hood and thick goggles to protect your eyes.
I think this whole ‘personally made’ approach to cars is one that would suit New Zealanders. After all, we have always been a do-it-yourself culture. Just think of all the garages and workshops we have everywhere. Kids in the past used to fix and alter their own bicycles, and build and race their own trolleys round the suburbs. And even today, I believe the average anaemic, antiseptic Kiwi in a pinstripe suit still has an vestigial, ‘inventive’ spanner lodged somewhere in the back of their brain.
We are a culture where people should be making their own cars. I’d love to see what Wellington people could come up with. I’m sure Wellington inventors would design and make smaller cars (to fit into smaller parking spots), cars that used the steepness of the landscape (and not petrol) to get into town, and bodywork that recycled metal, wood and plastic. Our vehicle fleet would thus become infinitely diverse, rich in ideas and raw creativity, and let’s be honest, fun. I could imagine a growth in the use of car horns (real ones), bells, vuvuzelas, and variations on all the musical instruments we listen to. And cars that were open to the sky like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang right through summer would allow drivers and passengers to interact better with other people on the road and on the footpath.
Of course, the wheels could come off occasionally, but they do anyway even with all our expensive, mass-produced imports. Some modern vehicles, especially the ones with big flat fronts, pulverise any pedestrians they hit (unlike the down-sloping bonnets of normal cars which are designed so that a hit pedestrian can sort of fold over the bonnet without getting too knocked-about).
I’d much rather see Wellingtonians let loose on new types of vehicles than focusing so much on electronic kulcha and unremittingly gorging their faces. The world needs new creative approaches to traffic: why not crank it up in the Capital?
When the movie first showed, it was like witnessing magic in the ordinary mechanical world around us. A poor inventor buys some old car wreck and rebuilds it with a mix of sound automotive mechanics, ‘Number 8 fencing wire’ adaptability, and what-the-hell creativity. And what a result... a great, beautiful beast of a vintage touring car that could drive along the road, float, fly and (as it proved) save lives.
Recent photos show its big boiler-like bonnet, red wheels and varnished wooden bodywork. It’s got pipes and things on the running board, and no roof: so as you drive along, you need your leather skull-hood and thick goggles to protect your eyes.
I think this whole ‘personally made’ approach to cars is one that would suit New Zealanders. After all, we have always been a do-it-yourself culture. Just think of all the garages and workshops we have everywhere. Kids in the past used to fix and alter their own bicycles, and build and race their own trolleys round the suburbs. And even today, I believe the average anaemic, antiseptic Kiwi in a pinstripe suit still has an vestigial, ‘inventive’ spanner lodged somewhere in the back of their brain.
We are a culture where people should be making their own cars. I’d love to see what Wellington people could come up with. I’m sure Wellington inventors would design and make smaller cars (to fit into smaller parking spots), cars that used the steepness of the landscape (and not petrol) to get into town, and bodywork that recycled metal, wood and plastic. Our vehicle fleet would thus become infinitely diverse, rich in ideas and raw creativity, and let’s be honest, fun. I could imagine a growth in the use of car horns (real ones), bells, vuvuzelas, and variations on all the musical instruments we listen to. And cars that were open to the sky like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang right through summer would allow drivers and passengers to interact better with other people on the road and on the footpath.
Of course, the wheels could come off occasionally, but they do anyway even with all our expensive, mass-produced imports. Some modern vehicles, especially the ones with big flat fronts, pulverise any pedestrians they hit (unlike the down-sloping bonnets of normal cars which are designed so that a hit pedestrian can sort of fold over the bonnet without getting too knocked-about).
I’d much rather see Wellingtonians let loose on new types of vehicles than focusing so much on electronic kulcha and unremittingly gorging their faces. The world needs new creative approaches to traffic: why not crank it up in the Capital?
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