Andre Citroen would have been proud.
Proud to know that in a small and distant country, deep in the South Pacific and far from his French homeland, a whole lot of Kiwis were gathering to declare "grande automobile!"
And equally proud that cars bearing his name, which he began to build in
1919, were today still rolling off production lines.
More than 120 people, aboard more than 60 Citroens, from a 1923 5CV through to the latest 2010 DS3 1.6 Sports, will gather in Hawke's Bay this weekend for the annual Citroen National Rally, and not even the prospect of showers will deter them from doing what Andre Citroen built them for ... driving.
Graham Ranford, of Napier, who confessed he had something in the order of about a dozen Citroens "about the place", said the Bay hosted a national rally every six years and this weekend's event had drawn a record number of the iconic French cars.
"They're coming from all over the country - we've got them coming up from the South Island for this."
The club in the Bay was strong, with about 40 members: "There are quite a lot of Citroens about around here, and most of them will be out this weekend."
The owners were proud of their machines - quick to point out that Citroen had always been a leader in automobile manufacture.
The very first model, the 10CV of 1919, was Europe's first mass-produced car, after Andre Citroen had been to the United States to look closely, and learn from, large-scale manufacture there.
The 1925 B12 was the first quantity-produced European car to have an all-steel body, and the 1934 "Traction Avant" was among the first cars to feature front-wheel drive.
There are plenty of reasons for Kiwi owners to raise a glass this weekend to the inspirational Andre.
Mr Ranford will be especially delighted with Andre's foresight and vision - for he has been "looking after" the latest DS3 Sports for the past few days.
"Very, very nice," was his summation.
The cars, vintage, classic and modern, will be on display between 9am and 11am at the Hastings racecourse tomorrow, while in the afternoon, between 2pm and 4pm, a gymkhana event will be held at Haumoana Park.
