Gasoline prices are rising. Latest cars lurk the streets, be it a Bentley or a Lexus. But a few people still resist and they remain true to their passion : old cars. A vintage car is commonly defined as a car built between the start of 1919 and the end of 1935. There is little number of Citroen Traction Avant – front wheel drive (1934) still in use today. This model was built by the French and there were plenty in the 1940s. This period in the automotive world was a time of transition. The car started off in 1919 as still something of a rarity, and ended up in 1930 well on the way towards mass production. During this period, the French colonial administration built a Vietnam wide road system.
“A real passion for style”
“I like old cars because they have
style”, Hung Manh says. Hung owns a Volkswagen Hartmann roadster. Hung is in
his 30s and he is the director of Ty Audio, a company in sound equipment. You
can see his roadster parked in front of his company showroom, on Ly Tu Trong
street. “I discovered old cars in the magazine Classic Cars”, he
continues. “I really fell in love with what I saw. Old cars, designers, style.
You can really tell the style and personality of each car, of his designer.
These cars have a soul, they are a class of their own. It doesn't have
computer-controlled anything.” Hung has three other cars in the garage. “I sold
some of them recently, it was too much work to maintain them. I even went to
hue with one of them!”. “At the beginning, it failed completely when facing
uphill in chilly weather, a frequent position when you arrive near the center
Vietnam. It was not uncommon for to have the hood open and me draped over the
engine, trying to "choke it" by blocking the carburetor's airflow
with my bare hands while my wife cranks the starter. When the engine kicks in,
I spring back to avoid its big metal 1963 cooling fan, which doubles as a
finger-chopper. Nowadays it's just an unnecessary risk, since whenever you turn
the key on even the cheapest modern car, it starts every time. So predictable !
You simply cannot compare the feelings you can have for an old car to those
that you have for a modern one, everything about them is just different.”
Of course, many people will disagree because
the current tendency is to move forward without looking back, to be part of the
general movement of progress and modernisation.
But you can’t progress without learning
from the elders, or from the people who lived before you. The same ideas can be
applied to cars. For the past hundred years, the automobile has been repeatedly
(and in various ways) redeveloped from the ground up; each time the engineers
and designers were unable to start work without taking into account past-experiences
or past-ideas.
“They are the soul of Saigon”
More and more old cars can be seen out on
the Saigonese streets. “Demand has soared” , Lam says. Lam owns garage in
District 10. “I had a French customer. He bought 3 Traction Avant Citroen and I
shipped them to him in Hue. I think he organises a tour of the royal tumbs in
these cars up there.”
Even in Ho Chi Minh city, such tour just
appeared. “I think it is fun to visit the city in a 1930s Traction Avant or a
1960s Mercedes 190”, Stephane Nguyen says. Stephane is the founder of Lotus
Voyages, a travel agency recently created. “In Paris , you can tour the city in
a Citroen 2CV. That is a great idea. Citroen 2Cv in Paris makes sense and it is
quite appealing for foreign tourists. We propose a tour of Saigon in a Citroen
Traction Avant or Mercedes 190. These cars were really part of the soul of Saigon
in the1930s (French colonial times) and 1960 (American presence). We just
started the tour and our first customers really enjoyed it”.
Lam wonders “How many more pearls lie in
a lurky garage? Last time, I found a 1950 Renault Dauphine under wooden planks.
It was dusty and rusted. The car remained like that since 1970 when its owners
left the country never to be seen again”.
“Spare parts : the vintage car hobbyist
nightmare”
Cars became much more practical, convenient
and comfortable. But still, collectors had to adapt to the local conditions.
“My wife only allowed me to buy my Citroen Traction Avant under the condition
that I installed air conditioning. If she would never step into the car with
our baby”, Rong Trinh, a French Viet Kieu remembers. “That was the only
compromise I made. I want to keep the car as it is originally, with original
design and spare parts… But I finally had to make compromise on spare parts !”,
he regrets. Spare parts are indeed the issue when your hobby is old cars,
whether you live in Vietnam or in England or anywhere. But especially in
Vietnam ! “Ask any car collector here, you will get the same answer”, says
Nathan, the owner of a company specialised in vintage car models… for children.
“Everyone will tell you that it is Impossible Mission to try to get original
spare parts for old cars. I have a Saab in my garage and for the last 10 years,
I could never find spare parts to repair it. It is not only a question of
price, it is just not available.” Spare parts are hard to find in Vietnam due
to high import tax.“And even when it is repaired, I would never take it out on
the street! It is a nightmare because it is quite painstaking to repair”, he
concludes.
