This year I wondered what the event would be like as the organization had appeared a bit haphazard.   Promotion seemed to start quite late, and seemed a little disorganized.  Emblematic of this was the bold text decrying 500+ German cars, with a bullet point just a little further down the page saying the event had been limited to 450 cars only.  I personally think limiting numbers keeps people away.   The whole point of a show like this it get as many cars as possible.  I know some people stayed away because they thought they would not be allowed to pay on the day.   There were also multiple ways to buy tickets which was highly confusing, and the event website was totally broken.

Despite all that, the volunteers on the day were excellent and that was probably why the day went off very well.

The turnout from Mercedes-Benz was decent.  There was a very good display of cars.    Like last year they parked them in general categories which was much better.   The first row was SLs.   The second row was 50s and 60s era cars, such as Roundies, Finnies, W108s, compacts etc.  I took my W111 250SE cabriolet and parked in this row.   There were a number of nice W108s, a lovely Adenauer, and a very nice 300SEL 6.3 I had not seen before.   Last year was probably bigger but not by much.

The third row was W123, W116 and w126 cars.   The W126 always has a strong contingent at these events.   W123s and W116s are far smaller. The fourth row was the W124, W210, W201, W202 etc. There was also a good display of these cars, particularly the W124.  One interesting car was a W202 C36 AMG, in bright yellow with a really period interior.   This car one a show and shine award.

The other marques were not nearly as well represented.  BMW was almost non-existent.   Apparently they had a track day on the same day.   Porsche, BMW and Audi were better, but also seemed down on prior years.

This event is always a good place to catch up with people both in and out of the club.   It was good to see a lot of people I know at the event.

The weather was generally pretty good, although there were a few light showers after 11am.  It was amazing to see all the Porsches vanish when the rain started.

The post 2025 German Auto show Sydney appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

This year there was a big improvement in that the cars were not just randomly parked, and they attempted to park cars in sections.   The had a section for the older 60s cars, one for the 70s and 80s cars and one for moderns.   A few of the 107s and C123s got mixed up with the moderns, but otherwise it was pretty well done.

The event was well organized and there was a good selection of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, VW and Porsche.   On the downside this year the club elected to have a separate concours event at a dealership.   This meant that the concours level older cars did not show up to SGA.   I think separating the events was a mistake and it would be better to have them together.  An event like this works when you have the largest possible number of cars there.

This year there were a fair few cars I had not seen before.   Probably my favorite was a W108 280SE in anthracite with a cognac interior.  It looked immaculate.   There was also a really nice signal red 300D W124, more than six C123s, which must be a record.   This year there was a very good showing of W116s which is always nice to see.   On display was a silver 1978 450SE that looked in excellent condition and with low miles.  It was for sale and the asking price seemed very reasonable

While W108s, W116s and W126s were well represented, there was only a single W114, no W115s and only a couple of W123 saloons.   There was also no roundies and only a single finnie sedan.   There was a much bigger selection at the Victorian event last year and I would love to see more of these cars at our event in Sydney.

I took my 1965 Mercedes 250SE Cabriolet.   There was only one other W111 Cabriolet this year, and a single coupe.   Pretty poor showing given how many are in the club.    It was a nice day to get the car out.

Going beyond Mercedes-Benz, the Porsche club had a good sized display.   I’ve never really been all that excited by 911s but there was a nice 914, and a couple of very nice 928s and 944s.   If I was to ever own a Porsche it would be a 928 in manual and there was such a car on display.   It was in a great purple colour that is very much like the Mercedes Colour Bornite.

For the BMWs they had a good selection of old and new.   My favourite BMWs are the E9, E24 and E28.   The E24 in particular was well represented and there were some very nice BMWs.    For VW they had a good selection of Beetles, Karmann Ghia’s and the like.   It probably wasn’t as big as in other years but it was still a good display.

The event is held at Gough Whitlam Park in Earlwood, same as last year.   This location is central and generally easy to get to, but I feel the event outgrew it a few years ago.   I suspect the issue is most inner city venues are not car friendly.    The reality of the situation is that for this even to continue to grow, it will probably have to move to a location that is further out.

As well as the cars, this event is always a great place to catch up with other people from the club, and is a pretty enjoyable day.

The post 2024 German Auto show Sydney appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Gough Whitlam Park is the same location that is used for the annual German car show.   It is a bit small for that event, but probably better suited to a simple cars and coffee.   I would estimate around 100-200 cars were on display.    Probably the lions share of those were modern modified and performance cars, but there were some interesting classics too.

I took my 1965 250SE, primarily because it was the car I had at home on the day and it was a last minute decision to go.   Given the wet and humid weather we’ve had in Sydney, it was the first time in months I’ve driven the car with the roof down.

It was an interesting contrast to come to this event vs the normal cars and coffee events I go to.   I still think St Ives is the best one in Sydney, but this was a nice way to start a Sunday morning and I was able to catch up with some friends.

The post Enthusiast Insurance Cars and Coffee March 2024 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

I attended that first show, unfortunately I did not take any photos.   What a contrast to the 2018 show.   This was the biggest one yet.   The show has now outgrown Gough Whitlam park, so a new venue would not surprise me next year.

Probably the biggest contrast was that the other marques took the show very seriously this year.  In prior years, there were quite small displays from BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche and the Micro-cars.   This year all those clubs had big displays of their models.   On the BMW side, they had a nice selection of 2002s, 3.0 CS and other early cars.   They also had many of the current ‘M’ cars that are so popular.    The Porsche club had a number of race cars, and there were a number of performance Audis.   For the first time in years I even saw an Audi Fox.

For Mercedes, attendance was the biggest yet.   There was only one pre-war car, but most of the post war models were represented.  Building on last year, there was a nice selection of W111/W112 Coupe/Cabriolet.   My Cabriolet was joined by two 300s, a black RHD recently imported from the USA, and a blue one recently restored.   Interestingly on the black car, it had Safari seats in the front and a regular rear seat.  I can only assume that some time ago, when these cars were not worth very much, a previous owner threw away the safari seats because he/she needed to carry three passengers in the back.   If only they knew how valuable they would become.   For the Coupe’s, there were a few 280SE 3.5s, a prize winning 250SE, a 220SE and a 300SE.

As usual, there was a good display of Pagodas, 190SLs and so on.   I even saw my old 280CE, with a new steering wheel center.   I’m glad an enthusiast owns this car.   There was also a good display of 600s, including a Pullman.

Overall this was a great event and you can see how hard the organizers worked to put it on.   The only negative for me is that the new concours judging classes make little sense.   The old ones were much more logically laid out.   You now have things like W100s in with 190SLs and other strange combinations.   I also find the registration fee of $50 rather expensive.    It was $35 only a couple of years ago.

After I got home, I took the time to give the 250SE a good leather treatment.  Since the car had been sitting out in the sun all day, the leather was nice and warm to allow the conditioner to get into the leather and keep it soft.   I also did the 450SLC, which still has original leather.   The drivers seat on that car has a few cracks in it, so I am keen to try and preserve it as best that I can.

Unfortunately, I discovered that there was a smudge on the lens of the camera which impacted the quality of the photos.   Therefore they are not up to the standard I would like.

The post 2018 Sydney German Auto-Fest appeared first on Classic Jalopy.