11 replies to this topic

[Martyn Hey]

I own a copy of David McKay's 'Behind The Wheel', that his Australian publisher would have sent to Bill for review in 1960. It's signed, with a fascinating note 'from one VW lover to another'. I wondered if anyone (Doug?) might have any background on whether their paths crossed often: shared interests, VW/Porsche, journalism, etc, when David came over to Europe in the 50s/60s? 

Edited by Martyn Hey, 24 February 2014 - 09:35.

[GMACKIE]

David McKay drove a VW in the 1960 Armstrong 500, with Greg Cusack.

 

http://users.tpg.com...r/backwards.htm

[275 GTB-4]

David McKay discussing the finer points of a bug...what a classic!

[Ray Bell]

The other day I was talking to Ken Britton about things and he mentioned a trial he and Max Stahl were in during the mid to late fifties...

 

David was in a VW and was the closest to them in the event, but mucked up something right at the end and lost by a small margin. So that's a little more on how far back his VW connections go.

[Doug Nye]

The Bod was a celebrated and outspoken VW fan at a time when any admiration for absolutely anything designed and made by The Hun was extremely unfashionable and unpopular within a large sector of the British motoring world.  The fact that The Bod would also - justifiably - rubbish many products of the British motor industry, refusing to accept the commonly-crowed opinion that 'British is Best', made him even more of a thorn in the side of the Midlands motor manufacturers.  During the 1950s and far into the '60s he virtually pioneered a kind of consumer-orientated critical appraisal in his road test reports, one which was markedly less matey than the often too cosy relationship between the 'professional' road testers writing their reports for 'The Motor' and 'The Autocar'.  Dear old Bod was one of the first to express publicly his bafflement at how anybody could describe some of BMC or Ford of Dagenham's products as possessing "vivid performance" and "leech-like roadholding".  Just because a car was British was no guarantee it possessed any merit. Many British motoring journalists of the period chose to ignore that fact.  The best we built were very good, but more that we built were at best grey porridge, and at worst could be best described by a four letter word.

 

DCN

Edited by Doug Nye, 25 February 2014 - 11:08.

[275 GTB-4]

David McKay drove a VW in the 1960 Armstrong 500, with Greg Cusack.
 
http://users.tpg.com...r/backwards.htm

In David's autobiography, he described how in 1960, the three car team (Perkins, McKay and Cusack), had run in all their engines and were basically happy with their performance a few weeks before the race. Then in the intervening period, the efficient German mechanics rebuilt all three engines back at the Melbourne factory. The loss of power became immediately apparent when they tried to replicate the times of the weeks before. It also dawned upon them that there was no time for the team to run-in their engines. A privateer with a 5000 miles on the clock engine beat them all home.

Edited by 275 GTB-4, 25 February 2014 - 12:04.

[Ray Bell]

Doug, I believe it was in one of D-d-d-david's books that he explained something similar...

 

He'd published a road test of a Valiant, I think it was, and condemned the brakes as being too inefficient for the speed of the car. Chrysler Australia responded by withdrawing all advertising from the Telegraph and David was concerned.

 

But Frank Packer reassured him. "You write your copy, the advertising staff will deal with that," he said, or something along those lines.

 

All the same, he had his blinkers on about some things on certain makes. But there is nobody else I've ever heard of who has taken the a current Minister for Transport for a fast drive from Sydney to Melbourne to show them how the roads can be improved (and incidentally how silly the speed zoning was).

 

A classic was when he responded to a reader's complaint. He'd written something about a trip down the Hume in, I think, a Holden Monaro, the tale getting interesting when he came over a crest munching on a Granny Smith at 85mph to find a stop/go sign operator right there expecting him to come to a halt.

 

Giving the whole scenario a barrage was kind of lost on this reader, who picked on him for eating an apple while driving. So David's response the following week explained that he'd found that apples don't tend to shower him with ash as a semi goes by and they don't require him to fumble to light them, nor does he have to ever get excited about things when he drops the lighted cigarette and has it roll somewhere uncomfortable.

[Martyn Hey]

Enjoying these stories - and what was Allan Moffat doing in a Holden in that 'Depending on Weather' film……… 

Edited by Martyn Hey, 25 February 2014 - 18:08.

[Ray Bell]

Too old for Moffat!

 

The Wahroonga Shell Autoport starred as well, and didn't David show off his 'SV' pocket?

[Martyn Hey]

Spotted that SV badge too

[GMACKIE]

David popped in to have a look at my 1928 Lancia Lambda, while I was restoring it, and asked if he could "Have a ride in it, when it was finished". It was late 1999 when I called him, and within a few days he came to have that ride in the Lambda. He lived not far away.

 

"Do you mind, Greg...I have brought a friend with me?" It was Mike Kable, who 'did a little article' on the car later, in the 'Australian'. After giving the Lambda a thorough 'testing', we chatted about - would you believe - motor cars, motor racing, etc. for some time. One of David's anecdotes will stay with me. It was about the time he and Greg Cusack tried to wrangle a race circuit in the middle of Canberra. Surprisingly, the Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser was all for it. There were, unfortunately, many against it.

 

David told us about when he was in the middle of a board meeting [he was a director of the large company], the telephonist enterd the room, and announced "Mr McKay, there is a telephone call for you". The board was far from impressed, although their mood soon changed.

 

"It's the Prime Minister, sir".

Edited by GMACKIE, 25 February 2014 - 22:54.

[Lee Nicolle]

David McKay discussing the finer points of a bug...what a classic!

A pov pack VW and FB Holden. As for VW with weak and inefective lighting!!  Until they went 12v they all were.