When the organizers of this year's classic car meeting took stock on Sunday afternoon, only satisfied voices could be heard. The meeting with optional excursion was once again a success this year and delighted the vehicle crews and onlookers alike. There was also a lot of interesting things to see. The slightly older visitors knew some of the vehicles from their childhood, when Ford Taunus or Opel Rekord were still part of the street scene. The Porsche faction was also well represented. From the early 911 and 944 to the eight-cylinder 928, there was plenty to marvel at from the Weissach-based sports car manufacturer. But brands that no longer exist and have been all but forgotten, such as Simca, Borgward and Autobianchi, were also represented. Those who were not familiar with them could rely on the expert presentation by Leonhard Stibitz. He presented the cars and motorcycles and, in addition to performance data, also shared one or two anecdotes from the company's history.
In between, DJ Benjamin Augenstein provided a pleasant backdrop with contemporary music. The young man, who certainly grew up listening to different music, received a lot of praise for his selection ranging from Joe Cocker to Lynyrd Skynyrd. The guests were able to immerse themselves in nostalgia and sometimes felt transported back many years. Because we know that everything was better in the past. At least if you ignore everything that was worse. But that's what meetings like this are for. The numerous visitors indulged in pleasant reminiscences and were engrossed in petrol conversations. They usually did this over a cool drink, delicious coffee variations or a good lunch, which delighted the surrounding restaurants. Revitalizing the city centre was also the aim of the co-organizer Stadtmarketing Idar-Oberstein e.V. The driving forces behind the organizing Automobilclub Idar-Oberstein e.V. were Martin Kaucher and Rolf Schneider. These two and their hard-working team could also be satisfied. More than 110 vehicles - historic two-wheelers, cars, rally cars, road cruisers and a fire engine - found their way to Idar, despite numerous other classic car events in the surrounding area. Over three quarters of the exhibits bore a BIR license plate. The owners had probably been waiting for this event and had polished up their motorized treasures beforehand. Shortly after midday, it was time for the optional excursion. Those who wanted to went along, those who didn't, simply stayed at the Schleiferplatz. It was precisely this simplicity that was highly praised. There was no need to register to take part or for the ride, and there was no charge. On the contrary. There was also a handsome participant sign and a credit card-sized souvenir card as motivation for the ride. The tour, which was dubbed a tourist ride and largely passed through the smaller villages in the district, was chosen to be just over 70 kilometers long so that it could be completed in a maximum of two hours. This took into account the fact that some of the participants already had a long journey behind them or still had the journey home ahead of them.
The official start was at 10.00 a.m. on this rain-free morning. While the first historic vehicles were already driving over the Edelstein traffic circle onto Schleiferplatz, Mayor Friedrich Marx welcomed those present and paid the organizers the highest praise. "It's great that we have such a great event in our city."
The other co-organizer, Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld, not only provided the moderator. Markus Zens, the designated member of the Board of Management, took part in his Audi 80 GTE and was equally enthusiastic.
With 2.9 hp and 50 cubic centimetres, permanent guest Eckard Cullmann probably had the smallest engine with his Hercules moped. The oldest car was a BMW 3/15 (Dixie) from 1930 with 15 hp and just under 750 cubic centimeters. No bigger, but perhaps even rarer, was the Autobianchi Bianchina convertible. The small Italian was based on the Fiat 500, while the American road cruisers, such as the Cadillac Eldorado or Cadillac DeVille, with displacements of more than seven liters and an exterior length of almost six meters, were completely different and lacked any standard German garage. The Mercedes L 3000 S from Hans-Joachim Trarbach was of a completely different nature. Powered by a 75 hp diesel engine, the truck was first registered in the war year 1943 for the Kufstein fire brigade.
This meant that automotive history of every class and size was represented. Only the brief downpour in the early afternoon did not fit into the concept. The organizers will soon sit down together and discuss what they can improve next year. In particular, a clash of dates with other similar classic car events should be avoided as far as possible next year.
BUZ: Extraordinary vintage cars were on display at the Idar Schleiferplatz (Photo: Leonhard Stibitz)