Motormania - Episode Two

In this second part of a documentary on Kiwis and cars, host Rita Te Wiata explores motoring in the latter half of the 20th Century. She begins in Christchurch where Ford V8s were a vehicle for post-war romance, then heads to Tahuna for beach racing. Te Wiata pockets the licence she supposedly got in part one and heads to Raglan to look at the car-enabled freedom of the 60s and 70s: surfing, fishing, caravans. While downsides are mentioned (motorways, pollution, accidents), mostly it’s a paean to petrolhead passion. The tour ends with a cruise up Queen St in a muscle car.

If you had a car you had the upper hand on having a girl. So you had to have a car, that was the number one thing, and preferably a Ford V8.

– Trevor Stanley remembers the 1950s

Key Cast & Crew

Chris Burt

Sound Design

George Andrews

Producer

Rima Te Wiata

Presenter

Matt Bowkett

Camera

Bryan Shaw

Editor

John Bates

Director