Last week we promised you to show you a series of great stories from a more or less distant past in view of PreWarCar's 15 year anniversary. This story by Rudy Kousbroek was published by us in November 2004. We found out that it was read, clicked and found better than any other story ever published at PreWarCar. Sadly Rudy died nearly six years ago. He was a renowned writer, amilcarist and a personal friend of Gabriel Voisin. We are still proud that he liked to help us with this write up about the art of Avions Voisin. by Rudy Kousbroek:
(the above photo was a gift by Gabriel Voisin)
"What is the meaning of the word ‘classic’ in connection with motor cars? With the increasing use of the word its definition has become detached from the original meaning of 'a creation of the highest excellence', to mean not much more than 'old' when it is applied to cars. For this reason I prefer to use the English word 'vintage'. A vintage car is, in principle, an automobile dating from before 1930, but even so not every car from that time is eligible. Very rarely some vehicles of a later date may also be included in the vintage category, but they must fulfil exceptional criteria. That, to me, is what 'classic' means with respect to cars. No American cruisers with fins, no Volkswagens, no ‘oldtimers’. Recently someone handed me a copy of the magazine Classic Trader. I was appalled ....