Mothers Day at the Bowden's....

On a beautiful Sunday in May we had yet another big group of the most hardcore devotees attend our collection’s 3rd “Open Day”. This day was quite different in that we gave perhaps the greatest test of devotion and passion by holding it on the most non car friendly day available; Mothers Day…Eeeeek.

 

Dear me, when I first put forward the 9th of May in the office as a potential date, the three ladies whom work here never even blinked an eyelid about it! (Being male I will of course blame them for the oversight.) It was not till some three weeks after the Open Day’s announcement that a very shocked bloke called us; “Do you fools know it’s on Mother’s Day!!” By then it was too late for a date change, as so many had already booked flights and accommodation, so we had to continue into the fire... I gave my Mum a very sheepish phone call to explain the situation and then began working out how this day can still work out! I lost count of the numerous concerned calls that came in, but nearly all kept true to themselves;  ”My missus will kill me, but I will see you there”. Yes, thanks to us there were many blokes living in the dog house for a few nights (or longer) but  the day still booked out, with us realising there will be NOTHING that will stop fanatics who, like us, would do anything to get their automotive fix, damn the fact it was on the worst possible day of the year!

 

 Giving the Goss Hardtop a bit of love, Bowden's style.

To appease the ladies who chose to attend, or were dragged along (one lucky lady was actually brought along with it being her "secret" gift for the day, SUPRISE honey!) we had a nice morning tea prepared with loads of chocolate, sweets and a heap of wine. All delivered before they were offered an exclusive tour by my Mum, Pauline, of her beautiful and expansive groomed gardens. It is something we call the “Duck Tour” (Name is derived from the ducks that live on the properties lake, not from those going on the tour) . Thankfully it seems that the day went over very well with all the ladies who made it (wine was obviously good). I have to give my utmost thanks for their understanding and support in coming along for their day.

 

The line up, enough to make any woman weak at the knees.

The tour of the collection ran through as always, 3 hours of non-stop motoring heaven. A true paradise for any car freak! As always, we mixed it up and threw a few extra bits in; For the first time we had the race Falcon hardtops on Display. Seeing Goss’s 1978 Cobra with the famous 1977 #2 Moffat Dealer Team machine of Colin Bond together was very cool. They are both pure muscle, and having the line with the Murray Carter replica at the end made for great viewing.

We also had the unveiling of our four new car care products, all of which sold out on the day! Thanks to those who have contacted me since with the glowing reports on how well they are working. Literally years and a lot of our time and emotion have gone into making them, so it was special for us to have them ready here on this day. Of course you can find them here on the website, just click here.

Dan, David, Frenchy and Dick all enjoying Mothers Day.

We were in for a unique treat in the afternoon, having two of Australia’s greatest Legends along at the same time;  John French and Dick Johnson (Thanks must be given to Carol and Jill for letting the guys attend!!). Such a great duo, they held the crowd spellbound, from the moment they rumbled down the drive in French’s old 1971 GTHO Works Phase 3. You can tell the long term friendship they share with the nonstop laughs and digs at each other’s racing prowess and alleged lack off.. But they gave brilliant talks about the racing life back in the ‘great old days’, from how they came to meeting and then with ther Bryant Byrt Ford association which led them to both share many great (and not so great) drives together. Amongst them was the very successful Bathurst 1981 win in one of our all time favourite cars Tru Blu.

 

What a great Mothers Day suprise.

Frenchy spoke of the early GTHO Ford days, then Dick gave us a run through the three of his cars we had lined up, Tru Blu, the Greens Tuf Mustang and his much loved RS500 Sierra. From that it went into Dicks and John’s very up front views on the current V8 Supercar series… Plus there was a bit of Q&A from our guests mainly about DJR . Good to hear of all the support was there for him, especially now with both Steve and James Courtney getting the couple of podium finishes in the last couple of events. It’s about time we say!

 

Dick being interviewed for the "Great South East" and how he got Jill to say yes to attend the day! (On Air in August).

The climacting event for the day was especially for the ladies, when we kicked over the Sierra, Mustang, GT40 and then the magnificent Beechey Monaro was stirred it to life. Around 130 decibels of pure Aussie muscle shook the hills and let every mother in Buderim know what she had missed out on. It was a fitting end to such a great day.

 

Overall it was another great success and thanks to all those who could make it. I am sure all the women will look forward to returning for the next big event of the year, the Sound Tour!

Love your car,
Dan Bowden
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