Americarna Taranaki - It's a Wrap!
Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Americarna Taranaki 2010 came to an end on Sunday morning as the American Cars rolled out of New Plymouth for the year.

It was a spectacular event that saw over 600 American cars participate between the 24th and 27th February in New Plymouth. This year, special guests Barry Meguiar and his TV crew were filming at Americarna Taranaki for Car Crazy TV which airs in countries all around the world including New Zealand.

The week was kicked off with a private air show at the New Plymouth Airport for all the people who had registered. This was followed by a cruise to Waitara and then Inglewood where the streets were lined with people along the way including children from the local schools and kindergartens.

The following days were spent cruising and hanging out at Opunake Beach and Hawera where the sun was shining and the towns were buzzing. The Meguiar's Car Crazy film crew were there to capture it all with Barry Meguiar interviewing Kiwi "Car Guys" and checking out their American Cars. The landscape of Taranaki was the perfect backdrop for the cars and couldn't have shown off our country better - the skies were even clear enough for a full view of Mt Taranaki.

Mt Taranaki - Photo courtesy of the Venture Taranaki website.

The final day of Americarna was the Country Fair Day back at the New Plymouth Race Course where people enjoyed great music, food, trade stalls and many more activities. The draw for the black 1964 Ford Galaxie was made late afternoon and was won by Malcolm Horrell of New Plymouth. The Country Fair Day led to the entrants buffet dinner and party where the bands and outfits worn by entrants really set the atmosphere. At the prize giving, Barry Meguiar gave a speech and said that he has never seen a higher level of cars as he has seen in New Zealand.

The Meguiar's Car Crazy TV Film crew shooting at Americarna in New Plymouth.

John Rae and everyone who worked with him  put on a great event in New Plymouth. "The people, the landscape, and of course the cars, will definitely do New Zealand proud as it's showcased in Meguiar's Car Crazy TV all around the world" says Darlene Smits, Managing Director of Meguiar's NZ. The TV show is set to air on Sky Sports 1 & 2 in April this year, however New Zealand is one season behind the US so you can expect to see the episodes filmed in New Zealand just a little bit later. However, keep an eye out online www.smitsgroup.co.nz where we hope to bring you a sneak preview of the show later this year.