thecountrydriver
Albury-Wodonga | Australia
Six of the best drives
in North East Victoria
Photo: Visit Victoria​
THOUSANDS of kilometres of highways and byways criss-cross North East Victoria and the Southern Riverina, Australia's premier inland playground, where every road trip adventure begs you to 'take the long way home'.
The region is home to some of the best driving roads - and attractions - in the country, plus there are so many other interesting back roads through awe-inspiring scenery to choose from. So, what are you waiting for? Let's go!
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Our best regional drives | Motoring columns | Road test | Historic Winton
THERE was a rarity on display at a recent Antique Automobile Club of America show: A striking 1919 Dodge truck – which was odd, since Dodge was a car maker, and had not built trucks - Bill Buys . . . more
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IT is ironic that the Swift Sport Turbo is the oldest, unchanged model in the Suzuki lineup, but at the same time still manages to shine as the star of the range, says Chris Riley . . . more
Historic Winton: Show me a van, man!
VANS, vans and more vans will be on display alongside a huge array of heritage transport at the 48th Historic Winton.
“With the anniversaries of the VW Kombi and the Holden Panel Van being celebrated, we are inviting as many of them as possible,” Historic Winton event coordinator, John Kessner said.
“This has inspired us to attract as many different types of vans too: Samba vans, 60s Hippie Vans, Bedford, Morris, Austin 7, Austin A30 and Austin A40 vans”. These will feature alongside anniversary displays in the Shannons Car Park and other pride-of-place vehicles. The 48th Historic Winton, to be held on 24th and 25th May 2025 at Winton Motor Raceway, always showcases paddocks-full of displays and well as two-days of historic racing.
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Along with vans, the Heritage displays will include emergency vehicles, trucks, motorcycles and anything unusual that’s on wheels. Organisers, the Austin 7 Club, will invite favourites to join the parade laps on track. Concourse quality vehicles through to rusty relics are all welcome as these novel vehicles add to the fun of the event and are a great showcase of the vast amount of work that people put into their hobby vehicles in Victoria and around Australia. - Darryl Starr
Back words: The background to car badges
IF ever we needed proof that all is not always as it seems, the Porsche badge is a perfect example. While it looks like it’s been around forever, that’s far from the case.
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Porsche is, of course, named after Ferry Porsche, the son of Ferdinand Porsche and designer of the Auto-union racers and the Kraft durche Freude people’s car (or Volkswagen).
But the badge was designed in response to a request from American Porsche importer, Max Hoffmann who thought sporting cars needed a badge worthy of their stature. First appearing in 1953, the shield features the curving stag horns and colours of Baden-Württemburg while the centrepiece is the crest of the city of Stuttgart. The rampant horse (reminiscent of the Ferrari badge) comes from origins in the Middle Ages – Stuttgart was a stud farm on the banks of the River Neckar. - Paul Murrell - seniordriveraus.com