When it's summer in Malibu, it's midnight in Monte Carlo, when Rio strips for the day Canowindra hits the auction heights. The Weekend Australian, your international passport to motoring pleasure.
Look, apart from a couple of local footy games, I could have gone to the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang this weekend where I would have had gourmet dining, fine wines, mingling with past and present F1 stars and a view over the team garages for $6500 in the Paddock Club. But Sepang, after you've seen the F1 track and the pig farms, it's just a bit yesterday compared to Canowindra, NSW.
Now just before we head to rural Sydney let's break a world exclusive. Next year the 24 Hours of LeMons will be a real 24-hour race (instead of two days with a break when it gets dark). Yes, we will all be in the Milan of the north, Ipswich, for this ground-breaking under $1000 event.
I've been in Canowindra since yesterday to watch Ashley Burns auction off Charlie McCarron's motor museum and former Holden dealership. Charlie's 84 now, and like me he's disgusted with the way successive Australian governments have killed our local car industry. Charlie opened his dealership in 1959 and probably traded his last Holden in 2001.
His pride and joy is the 46th Holden to roll off the production line. It should bring about $300,000, which is not a bad earn. He bought it 30 years ago for $575.