The car industry is a cut-throat one, these days controlled as much by penny-pinching accountants and shareholder-answering executives as forward-thinking designers and innovative engineers.
In days gone by designers and engineers had much freer reign to deliver to the public the cars they actually wanted to drive and be seen in. Today the demands of safety bureaucrats and 'green' lobbyists put even greater pressure on car makers to conform to ever tightening restrictions.
Together with the continual drive for profits, it's no wonder that marketing and 'spin' play an increasing role in getting the average driver enthused about the latest eco-friendly runabout that looks like it is, and in many ways is, designed by a computer.
So where does that leave room for car 'enthusiasts' working within these restrictive confines? You'll be pleased to hear that car companies are not entirely run by number crunchers and safety boffins, with a few car nuts making their way up the rungs of the corporate ladder.
These enthusiasts, when they're not designing, engineering or marketing the next model to hit the showrooms, can be often found tinkering with old cars in their back sheds or playing around with them on the week-ends. So let's meet five of them...
Graham Wadsworth - Ford Australia Design Manager Exteriors
If you drive a Ford Territory or one of Ford Performance Vehicles' red-hot Falcons and are happy with its sharp styling and road presence, you can probably thank Graham Wadsworth.
As the man who oversees exterior styling for the Blue Oval's big family wagons and go-fast sedans, he sets the tone for the appearance of some of the most popular and admired locally-built vehicles on sale today.
But this British-born revhead, who has been with Ford for 19 years, does not spend all his waking hours peering into the future. He also has a keen interest in automotive design from the past, with two stunning examples in his garage as testament to his good taste.
The most spectacular is the 1969 McLaren M10B open wheeler fitted with a locally-produced Repco F5000 engine that was driven with much success by Frank Matich.
"It's got a lot of great history behind it," explains Graham. "It was the 1970 Australian Grand Prix-winning car, driven by Frank Matich, and then it campaigned the Tasman Series in '71. It didn't win, it had a few unlucky breaks, and came second to Graham McRae. Then it went to the States and won the Riverside GP in the US in 1971, followed by a second place at the Monterey GP at Laguna Seca the following month."
Graham was looking to buy another M10 McLaren in the UK before discovering the similar Matich on his doorstep in Melbourne. After a discussion with the owner, a deal was struck and the very significant race car was his.
After its heyday in the early-'70s, the McLaren ended up in various private collections and was restored in the late-'90s by Jim Hardman, who has continued to maintain the car for Graham.
Some minor teething problems, including a leaking fuel injection system, has kept the McLaren off the track recently, although Graham did manage some hair-raising laps at Winton, describing the car as "very, very quick". He hopes to compete with it in an historic open wheeler category in 2008.
While its performance is outstanding, Graham also appreciates the design 'purity' of its hand-beaten monocoque body, which escaped the 'clutter' of various aerodynamic aids introduced on later open wheelers.
"It's a pretty car; if I didn't drive it I'd put it on the wall," he says.
Graham's other classic beauty is a 1973 Ferrari Dino which he's owned for the last 10 years. He says it's an Australian-delivered car, one of about 100 that came here, and remains in excellent original condition.
"The Dino always was to me the most beautifully sculptured and modelled car," he says. He remembers as a child admiring a Dino that travelled the same route to his school and vowed that one day he'd own one. He also appreciates the handling and performance of the V6, mid-engined Ferrari.
"It's got old tyres on at the moment so it's a little bit down on grip but it's beautifully poised for a road car," he explains. "I drive an FPV and (the Dino) is so nimble compared to a GT or GT-P. It would be interesting to take each one to a track day and see which one handled better."
While Graham is excited about the current direction in automotive design, you can tell he'll always hanker for the "no boundaries" design philosophy of era's past. "If someone was to ask what Ferrari I'd buy, it would probably still be a Dino," he says. "And same with (the McLaren); I looked at all the options and this to me is a stunning looking car."
David Stone - Alfa Romeo general manager
Chatting to David Stone, you get the feeling he'd be almost as happy flogging used Alfas at 'Downtown Italia Motors' than leading the charge of the revitalised Alfa Romeo (and Fiat) car brands in Australia.
Describing himself as a "true Alfisti", David has always had a thing for beautiful Italian models (of the automotive type), owning a string of Fiats back in the 1970s before deciding that Alfa Romeo was his classic marque of choice.
"Previously I raced a GTV 1750 and 2000 in the 105 body style in the '80s in Improved Production, or whatever that category was called then, and on top of that I've probably owned another 10 Alfa Romeos of different descriptions during the '80s and '90s," he admits.
His current Alfa obsessions though are two GTV coupes from the late-1970s-early-'80s. "I have one as a road car and I'm building the second one into a car for historic racing, Group S. I want to have that run at the Festival of Sporting Cars at Bathurst in Easter."
David also raced a current 159 diesel sedan at the 2007 Bathurst 12-Hours as part of Alfa Romeo's three-driver team, which finished 20th outright.
He's not entirely 'red-blooded' however. Since 1983 he's raced a variety of cars including Datsun 2000s, Cortina GTs and Hyundai Lantras, and also raced motorbikes. He currently races a 'Group N' XY Falcon GT that he's owned since 1998 and describes as a "beast" and a "handful" to drive.
A panel beater by trade, David admits these skills "come in handy for the racing but also restoration work because that's enormously expensive and I'm glad I don't have to pay anyone for that. I do it all myself."
And while he gets to choose between the latest Brera and GT coupes for his 'company car', he says nothing can compare with the "lovely exhaust burble" and "throttle growl" of his 1978 GTV with its twin-carburettor 2.0-litre engine.
While it was in good nick when he bought it, he plans to restore it back to the way it was when it left the showroom floor.
"I'm lucky that I'm representing a brand where the older cars are equally as beautiful as the new ones; not all the brands are like that," he admits. "Alfa Romeo has this wonderful mystique and heritage which is quite remarkable, so I love the old cars as well as the new ones."
"It's great that you can be an Alfisti and in this job at the same time…"
Michael Winkler - Porsche CEO
As the man who's called the shots at Porsche Australia since 1995, Michael Winkler has been a close witness to the good and not so good times at the Stuttgart company. These days, he drives to work at Porsche's head office in inner-Melbourne a two-tonne Cayenne Turbo SUV; for some the 'anti-Porsche' but one which has helped bolster Porsche's bottom line in recent years.
But driving some of the world's greatest performance vehicles is simply not enough for this boardroom revhead, who counts a 1970 Porsche 911S and a 1951 Jaguar XK120 amongst his treasured possessions.
The XK120 roadster currently resides in the US in a friend's garage (he hopes to ship it to Australia one day) but his lovely orange 911S coupe is parked at Porsche HQ ready for a quick spin whenever he gets the time in a busy schedule.
"I bought it five years ago," he recalls. "I was actually looking for a 2.4-litre but I got a call out of the blue from a surf bum of all people at (coastal town) Torquay and he said he had this car..."
It fit his requirements perfectly, as Michael was looking for a car with the 'classic' 911 shape along with the raw handling traits of earlier Porsches but with the more reliable fuel-injected engine that came out in 1969.
He's traced its history as far back as 1972 and discovered he is the sixth owner. The car has been mechanically rebuilt including the 190hp 2.2-litre engine and the previous owner repainted it in its original 1970s orange hue (the colour has just been revived on the latest GT3 RS, he points out proudly).
Apart from some more comfortable RS-style seats, it remains faithful to its bare-bones factory specifications, which didn't even include a radio. It's a good thing then the engine sounds so delightfully raucous revving to its 7000rpm redline.
"I get it out probably once every eight weeks, for a Sunday drive and a bit of breakfast and come back," says Michael. "You have no ABS on the brakes, skinny wheels and tyres, and you actually have to drive it."
While he bought the car "just for fun" and had the intention of modifying it for use in tarmac rallies, he later decided against this to preserve the car's originality.
Like many other enthusiasts, Michael's passion for the classics developed early on. In his case, he remembers as a young lad watching a lime green 911 roaring up a slippery, snow-covered road in his hometown in Germany.
"He beautifully drifted it up the hill and for me the image just stuck in my mind," he says.
The orange 911S is not the only old Porsche on Michael's radar though. Others on his wish list include a 1973 911 RS, a 1989 930 Turbo with five-speed transmission, which was never sold in Australia, and a 3.6-litre, turbocharged 964.
"I will buy an old turbo at some stage, just for fun," he says. "Again, no electronics, a bit of a beast, and fun to drive for that reason. That's what driving is all about."
Justin Hocevar - MINI National Manager
Justin Hocevar is the first to admit that big, petrol-guzzling Aussie cars of the 1970s are the "polar opposite" of the fuel-efficient runabouts of today. But that's one of the reasons why the 37-year old executive, who drives a Cooper S to work as part of his role as head of Australian MINI operations, recently rebuilt a 1973 Chrysler Charger.
"I've always had a bit of a soft spot for old Aussie muscle cars and the Charger was one of them," Justin explains.
He bought the VJ Charger XL coupe with its 318ci V8 and dealer-fitted vinyl sunroof about four years ago after looking around for a nice, original example to restore.
"I got it stripped back to a bare metal shell and had it rebuilt, and had the engine taken out and rebuilt," he explains. "There are some real Charger enthusiasts out there, and they like to keep everything to the line. I've overstepped the mark and put the R/T stripe on it but with an all-white car it's just something it had to have to break it up a bit.
"It's been back on the road now for two-and-a-half years and I would probably have done just 5-6000 miles in that time."
Justin has driven most of the BMW and MINI range during his 10 years with the BMW Group, but while they were all "fantastic products" and "real drivers' cars" none delivered the same thrills of his iconic coupe. "(The Charger) is a real pleasure to drive but in a totally different way (to the late model cars); it's kind of nostalgic, it's challenging, it's certainly a lot more work involved.
"It does attract a lot of attention. My kids love it. They love going for a ride in the Charger, the noise and everything is something they really have a lot of fun with. You get everybody giving you the symbols of the thumbs up; you get people coming up wanting to have their photos taken next to it," he laughs.
Justin's high-octane pursuits are not confined to four-wheelers. Before the MINI job, he was national sales manager for BMW Motorcycles, and admits that at one time he "lived on bikes".
"I did an overland trip from England to Australia on a motorcycle. I did 32 countries on a motorcycle; the Simpson Desert; Cape York. I also do weekend dirt rides and the occasional enduro thrown into the mix.
"At least I can take my kids for a fun ride on the weekend in the Charger; try strapping two kids on the back of a bike!" he quips. What's more, "One of my good mates is a Charger and Chrysler nut as well. He's got two utes and a Charger, so it's always good to catch up and take them out together."
Tony Hyde - ex-Holden Engineering Director
Newly retired Holden Director Of Engineering, Tony Hyde, has a couple of modern Holdens in his garage including a tricked up Monaro (louder Pontiac exhaust and big brakes) and a Statesman Caprice company car that he's going to buy.
But while his job for the last 40 years was to build the most technologically advanced cars he could, he has a passion for old Corvettes, first kindled when he was sent to the US in the early-1970s.
Hyde attended the General Motors Institute, a kind of university for GM engineers and executives and it was while in the US that he bought his first Corvette, not that he could afford it on US$125 a month.
"It was a 1969 427 with sidepipes and Tri-Power for the princely sum of US$3150," Hyde says, smiling at the memory. "It was two-years old and I got a loan of US$1500 from a Michigan National Bank, which gladly loaned to GMI students because they knew GM was standing behind them.
"But they had dodgy fuel filters and it used to break down. I remember being stranded on the side of a freeway at night in Flint Michigan with a 427 'Vette -- and there were no mobile phones then. That was pretty scary. I was lucky because some guys from the local Corvette club pulled up and gave me a tow and finished up fixing the car for me.
"I don't know what it is about 'Vettes. I saw them even before I went to GMI and thought, 'I've got to get one of those' and actually went to GMI with the objective of buying one. I shipped it back to Australia and sold it and made about $1000.
"I hesitate to reveal, though, that my everyday driver in the US was a '67 Mustang, which was not the dream Mustang because it was your typical ladies' car. It was a 289 auto in metallic green with a black vinyl roof, drum brakes with no booster and crossply tyres. But it was lots of fun. We used to live on a hill and in winter it was very slippery and to park it, you hit the brakes and slid into this parking bay that had a raised gutter that stopped you!"
Hyde bought his current 1976 Corvette 17 years ago. "It's not a famous one," he adds. It runs a 350 Chev on unleaded. You'd expect a finicky engineer to have a pristine car but it's far from concours; Hyde didn't even want to lift the bonnet. But that's what he likes about it, it's a no-fuss car that runs all day.
"My wife and I spend summer weekends in it but she's always frightened the thing will break down," he laughs. What about one of the new Corvettes? "I've tossed around the idea of buying one in the US, driving around for a few months then bringing it back. And my wife is quite amenable to it."
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