Is it Raining Again?
This month’s news brief doesn’t contain a narrative about any new or updated models that have been released, albeit there have been some such as the updated BMW 2 Series, an Alpine A290 electric hot hatch, and a revised interior for the Aston Martin DBX707. The bad news for car enthusiasts of late is the cancellation of scheduled car shows and meets. Yes, only in the UK, the weather sadly dictates our car shows. We look at our smartphone weather app – will it be raining at the weekend? Will the show be cancelled? How many times have you heard, “I’ll go if it’s not raining”.
Vehicle lovers who attend shows to show off their toy, love the Spring to Autumn seasons, sometimes retrieving their car from storage, methodically add to their calendars those dates of commitment. Vehicles for showing are cleaned readily for the journey to the event. No-one wants rain, this will ruin the shiny paintwork, potentially add mud deposits to the wheels and create a situation of anxiety over whether to re-clean the car once at destination.
Cancelled events are not good for business either – event organisers running the shows will be miss out on revenue from the visitor’s entrance fees and the charges to vendors to sell their wares. Lack of mileage between MOT’s for some will be noticeable – some vehicles only seem to see the roads for event visiting. This also means these chariots will be seen less. That’s a shame. Many of us smile at the sight of nostalgia.
What can be done to change the weather? Nothing. We are at the mercy of planet Earth’s ecological system. Is Mother Nature limiting the use of higher emission older classic cars now? Attendance of these vehicles are more subject to better weather conditions. Europe and the USA are more fortunate having warmer climates that facilitate regular car show attendance. To keep the car show spirit alive, maybe we should make more effort, come rain or shine to attend if its not cancelled. Campers grin and bear it. Maybe we should too. If we do not, more events will be cancelled and your car will remain in storage or be shoehorned in your garage gathering dust for much longer than it deserves. ©
