NZ'ers in Oz

Cruises, Meeting's and State Specific Information... NZ, the other Australian State

Moderators: IMC, Club Staff

Post Reply
User avatar
martyjer
Apprentice
Posts: 97
jedwabna poszewka promocja
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:00 pm
Location: Cork, Ireland
Contact:

NZ'ers in Oz

Post by martyjer »

Was going to ask this in lukeperry's newbie post but was not on topic for that so said I'd throw it in here;

People that moved from NZ to Oz, such as vipfto and l8A4RE, ye both said ye are from chch, was the fto always a car ye admired and saw as one to mod up or was it only when ye moved to Oz that the potential was recognised?
I'm only asking cause I see a LOT of FTOs in chch and I've only seen about 3 that looked as if they were enthusiasts or fellas that wanted to mod a car. Most are stock and in pretty poor nick unfortunately too. I have also seen loads for sale and enquired about them asking are they GPX or GR as it doesnt state on the ad on trademe and people have come back and said they have no idea what a GPX or GR is.
FTEvolution told me when I met him in Wellington that the FTO's arent generally seen as I am used to seeing them, as a beautiful looking, and sounding, and rare car, with potential to be made into something amazing. And I must say its true, they are everywhere, but I still think its strange that they arent seen as an enthusiasts car, well by the majority of owners anyway. Not so much as Ireland, Oz or UK that is.
User avatar
vipfto
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4154
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:00 pm
Location: Adelaide

Post by vipfto »

I has mine while in chch it was in storage for the last year when i moved here but is now on the boat as i write this :D

and yes there are a couple of heavily modded ones in chch just dont see them often, but because evos wrx and skylines only cost pocket change thats the car of choice usually
FTO GR-TURBO
172KW ATW @ 11PSI
User avatar
Grue
Veteran Mechanic
Posts: 876
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:00 pm
Location: Taranaki, New Zealand.
Contact:

Post by Grue »

Yeah, FTO's have never been that sort of car of in NZ, simply because there were so many brought over from Japan, and you can pick up a fast POS skyline with your week's pocket money and not have to worry about insuring it, as insurance isn't compulsory in NZ.

The tide is beginning to turn though. Meeting more people interested in mine, who stop and ask me about her, and even got a couple of mates looking to buy one to do up at the moment. Still recon that it won't be many more years before most of the badly looked after ones will be off the road. Then it'll be a classic car!
If you can't dazzle them with dexterity, baffle them with bull...
User avatar
martyjer
Apprentice
Posts: 97
Joined: Mon Dec 22, 2008 6:00 pm
Location: Cork, Ireland
Contact:

Post by martyjer »

I was thinking that there were a lot of those other cars around, ones which we dont see often back home in Ireland, (well there are ones with stickers and badges and bodykits but the engine or drivetrain isnt the real deal) due again to insurance reasons. I notice as well that a lot of the wrx's and evo are Asian owned, prob another reason why there are so many here, bring them with them when they arrive. As I was thinking of doing with my FTO originally. I can see that a lot of the fto's will become inactive in a few years though like you say, down to non-servicing, failing wof, whatever reasons, so hopefully it'll gain its proper status then.
I ended up getting a different car in the end when I was looking as the fto's I looked at werent in great nick and were too costly for their condition, what I got was a 3L V6, and compared to the FTO is nowhere near as powerful or as quick off the mark, just reassured me that the FTO was one of the greatest ever built! :D
User avatar
vipfto
Forum Moderator
Posts: 4154
Joined: Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:00 pm
Location: Adelaide

Post by vipfto »

the reason why they are so cheap is due to no real import restrictions that were implemented during the 90's when NZ car industry ceased. So the market was just flooded with used jap imports, now they have to no less than 10 years old to import for on road purporse but still the price is cheaper than almost anywhere else.
FTO GR-TURBO
172KW ATW @ 11PSI
User avatar
I8A4RE
QLD Coordinator
Posts: 9594
Joined: Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:00 pm
Location: BOOSTIN in front of you
Contact:

Post by I8A4RE »

It's kinda funny, from the moment i saw a FTO for the first time, I thought man that is a sexy car but never considered ever buying one and neither did any of my mates, to be honest none of us would have considered buying a mitsi. Then I moved to oz and saw how ridiculously expenisve imports were, I had to change my whole prespective.

Then when I split with my x, and I was finally allowed to buy a sports car again, I was just finishing work when this purple FTO pulled into the car park, it had full white leather trim, was body kitted and lowered.......... The decision was made right then and there and I have never looked back.

After owning a fto for 4yrs now, i do think the FTO is truely under rated, HOWEVER I like the fact that it is ucommon, unknown and has a certain mystic about them. I dont want them to be popular, one of the main reasons why I brought one was there were very few here unlike the skylines etc.
Post Reply