Honda Day for this year was Saturday the 31st of March. While none of the Brisbane Honda dealers seemed to take any notice, Warren McKie Gold Coast Honda had decided to hold a special one day sale and combine it with a Concourse.
HCOAQ members were invited to attend the concourse. Unfortunately, the decision to hold the event was at 2 weeks notice, so there was insufficient notice to allow publication through the newsletter. As many members as could be quickly reached were phoned and emailed to inform them of the event.
Robert Howlett's Honda Beat won the "Visitor's Choice" award, and the Legend won the "Best Presented Car". Ian's Collit's highly modified Turbo II won the personalised award and the NSX won the award for "Best Original Car".
Warren seemed pleased with the support the day had received, and announced that they intend to repeat the event next year, only bigger and better (and with more notice....). Next year the Concourse should be expanded to include different age categories, and a fashion show will probably be added. So keep a date towards the end of May 1998 open...
The weather on Saturday morning was much better than it had been the night before. Just as well, given the nature of the event. Several of those attending met at Leon Percy's place and travelled in convoy from there to the Nerang.
After a leisurely drive, there was little difficulty in locating Warren McKie Gold Coast Honda. Not only is it a fairly large dealership, it has a prominent sign stating that its the largest Honda dealership in Queensland.
Early arrivals soon found positions for their cars and went to meet the locals. Good food was provided, so those that had missed breakfast had the chance to catch up.
In all, about 13 cars competed in the concourse. Judging didn't start until around midday, which allowed for some late arrivals (such as Campbell Sharp) to get settled, and allowed other participants to have a good look at the machines on display.
A number of interesting cars were there to be seen. An NSX was already on display when we arrived, as were a fairly old Prelude, a four-door Legend and a couple of Civics. Later arrivals included Robert Howlett's Beat (the first such vehicle that any of us had seen), a customised '97 Prelude and a black VTiR Civic.
As well as providing food and drink, the organisers also had a jazz band to entertain visitors. All in all, a very enjoyable day...
After lunch, the Concourse judging was begun. The three judges were quite thorough about the job, so the process took quite sometime. While my Turbo II did not reach the standards required to snare one of the prizes, it was interesting seeing what the judges were checking. Maybe next year, I'll have more of a chance to take out one of the prizes...
The original intention had been to have two prizes, one for the "Best Original Car" and one for the "Best Personalised Car", some extra prizes were added at the last minute. These included a "Visitor's Choice" and a "Best Presented Car".
While the Concourse was underway we were given a grand tour of the dealership by Warren, and we were amazed by his attention to detail in setting up the whole place. He has designed the buildings and the layout of each section to perfectly suit the job, from his office which has a view of the entire operation, to a shared carpark between the Honda, Nissan and Daewoo sections.
There is a separate service division for Honda and Nissan, and another business to service used cars of any make. The telemarketing wing looks after followup calls to potential clients, after-sales and after-service calls. There are trainee Car Sales Assistants, on a 3 year course which will leave them "qualified" to sell cars. There are over 90 staff invloved. They have a fleet of 18 rental cars used as loan cars while yours is being serviced.
Warren says he is happy to just look after "his patch" being the Gold Coast and from the number of awards the dealership has won, he is doing something right..
Ian Collits efforts
in personalising his Turbo II paid dividends at the Concourse. Ian and
Dixie went to great lengths to make the City look like "their" car. They
have added extra flares on the guards, wide mag wheels and tyres, the addition
of red and black paint around the bodywork, spotlights and decals to finish.
The drive from Brisbane towards the Gold Coast was a traffic-packed affair amidst lunatic drivers and extensive roadworks - it's nice to know some things never change! However, the trip down provided the highlight of the day (for me), but more on that later.
Upon arrival we discovered the usual balloon covered extravaganza that characterises a dealer promotion, thank god they have not yet resorted to a trick the local Ford dealer pulls of putting up 6 foot high burlap "walls" around the dealership to give the impression there must be something of real significance happening inside!
Unusual, however, was the line-up of older and rarer Honda models on the front lawn, cars belonging to club members, and also some Southport locals. There was an original model Civic in Kermit green, more City Turbo IIs than I have ever seen in one place, a red NSX, a white series 2 CRX and a variety of late(r) model civics, preludes, legends and so on. These cars composed the "concourse" event.
We parked the Beat next to a silver 1997 Prelude and wandered off to look around.
As it was around lunchtime, first stop was the sausage sizzle -- yummy steaks and snags, and provided free -- the visit was off to a good start, and the barbeque got a few return visits during the afternoon as well! Next was a wander 'round the showroom, checking out new cars, accessories, and merchandise - Honda hats, shirts, luggage and so on - Honda have quite an extensive catalog! Still no CR-Vs in sight - when are those things due for release in Oz ? Top of my new-Honda-to-buy list is the Civic VTiR.
Back to the "concourse", where the other club members had arrived after a tour of the dealership, to check out the other cars and "show-off" mine. The Beat seemed popular with most visitors, the most common question being "where's the engine?", closely followed by "no, what size is the engine REALLY?" - yes, it really is a 660cc 3 cylinder. It was especially popular with a large Italian gentleman who managed to shoehorn himself into the cockpit (not sure how!) and pop the bonnet before I managed to intercept him and offer some assistance -- he thought the car belonged to the dealer and was fair game (yes, I'm sure every Honda dealer has a Beat sitting on their lot).
My favorite car was Shane's white series 2 CRX (my other favorite 2-seater Honda!). I also spent a lot of time trying to find a speck of dust or grease on the NSX. I failed, despite the car being a 1990 build model! Only 15,000 kms on the clock. Quote of the day - "no, I don't really drive it much" from the NSX owner! Probably due to the fact that it must be impossible to get out of the driveway with that front air-dam offering about 2mm ground clearance!
Anyway, the judging of the concourse went ahead (slowly), with the three judges being pulled from the RACQ, the dealer staff, and a concourse-inspector extraordinaire. Best presented car was a white Legend owned by an older couple (good to see all age groups participating!), best modified car was a red white and black striped City Turbo II (Ian Collits) from the club, with W-I-D-E 13" tires, and most popular car was the Beat (of course :-) I got a Honda umbrella and watch from the merchandising stand as a trophy - so, a good haul - free lunch, and free goodies !! Ian Collits prize was $500 parts and service from the dealership, a very nice watch, and a trophy for his trouble.
Highlight of the day was during the trip down - we were cruising along in the left lane at about 85 km/h, waiting for a break in the endless stream of traffic in the right lane to appear so we could cut in and travel a little faster, when a brand new Porsche Boxster pulls along side! The driver matches speed, both he (and his lovely passenger!) look the little yellow car up and down, smile, wave and then drive off. Comradeship amongst convertible owners -- never mind the 100-odd-thousand price difference!
Warren McKie Honda have promised a "bigger and better" event next year, and given the size of the haul this year, I for one will be returning! Thanks again to those club members who invited me -- I will be attended future club events for sure.
