Yesterday (a little after sunrise), Vintage & Classic Car Club of Pakistan (VCCCP) took out all their street legal and roadworthy cars in force. As it's time for our crazy adventure again... The VCCCP Cross Country Drive from Karachi city, right up to Peshawar (and a little beyond to the Khyber Pass) with a detour into Azad Kashmir even! Yes, they actually will be traveling the entire length of the country, and will even get to stay for a while in Pakistan's Capital city of Islamabad. VCCCP 1 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) This is their 4th such rally! So off they all now go for almost half a month! And as they will travel northwards from this southern most megacity of Karachi, other classic cars from different areas and cities of Pakistan will be joining them on the road! When they will reach the city of Lahore (capital of our Punjab Province), they all will stay there as guests of Pakistan's Prime Minister Mr. Nawaz Sharif. So to see them all off, Pakistan Muslim League Party's Sindh Province Secretary General, Advocate Mr. Saleem Zia was also there. He told me that recent politics have kept him very busy, otherwise he too would be going right now! Here he is speaking in front of the media. VCCCP 2 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) And here is my friend Mr. Mohsin Ikram (founder of the Vintage & Classic Car Club of Pakistan) - Giving a short interview. VCCCP 3 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) Here are some of the cars participating. VCCCP 4 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 5 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 6 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 7 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 8 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 9 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 10 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) Rules of the rally are simple. Firstly, this is not a racing competition. So drivers in their muscle cars are asked to please resist the urge to overspeed. This is because many other cars participating (like the VW Microbus) were never built for speed. So any driver who violates this golden rule (by passing the lead car in his or her group), will be paying for everyone's dinner of that night! Anyway, here are all the drivers: VCCCP 11 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) And this here is the youngest participant of this rally, only 3 years old. She is actually the record holder of being the youngest ever participant in any automotive rally within Pakistan (as last year was her first time, when she was just 2). Of course, she still won't be driving, her mom will! VCCCP 12 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) And here they all are driving out! VCCCP 13 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 14 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 15 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 16 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 17 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) And as Mr. & Mrs. Ikram drive out, it dawned on everyone that their car's top was not in working order. So they hit the road out with just Mrs. Ikram's umbrella... The terrain in and around Karachi and lower Sindh Province is desert and semidesert like. But up North they are likely to run into rain and perhaps some snowfall too. So I don't know how they will manage... VCCCP 18 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) VCCCP 19 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden ) My own car from 1981 is still not fully restored yet, otherwise I too would have been going with my friends (as well as videoing the journey). However this same time next year will be a different story! VCCCP 20 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden )
It actually would have been even more interesting had some of the old and beautifully restored "jalopies" been allowed to enter as well. But unfortunately, such cars no longer are legal to drive on our national highways, (as they are considered unsafe and too slow for today's highway speeds). But those cars too will still be making appearances in all major cities where this rally will pass through. Only they will be loaded on trains and brought to the car shows. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESi7uGMNaMs
Update: A message from Mr. Mohsin Ikram (founder of the Vintage & Classic Car Club of Pakistan) - To all fans and well wishers. Night of 20th in Gambat, 21st Bahawalpur, 22nd to 25th Lahore...car show at Tricon Village, Thokar Niaz Beg in Lahore from 11 am to 5 pm........25th to 27th in Islamabad....car show at Serena Hotel on 26th by invitation only, 27th to 29th in Rawlakot, Azad Kashmir....then back to Islamabad.....30th morning we leave for Peshawar where we have a car show at Peshawar Club from 11 am to 4 pm .... return to Islamabad....1st Dec we would be participating on Pakwheels Car Show and same evening return to Karachi (in between we are planning to squeeze a day or two in Ayoobia...... May God be with us! But while all of this will be happening, weather satellite shows this huge cloud cover moving into Pakistan from the left (which right now extends all the way from the Southern point of UAE, right up to Afghanistan's North). And Mr. Mohsin Ikram is still driving without his car's top (with just Mrs. Ikram's umbrella between them and the elements)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHaJBaZupD4 Pakistan weather on Nov 22, 2013 ( photo / image / picture from S-H's Garden )
