KARACHI: Watching one Mercedes owner cleaning the slight dust accumulated on the bumper of his 1982 E-200 bright maroon Mercedes Benz with his bare hands at the Mobil 1 Mercedes Benz Show-2016 here on Sunday was enough to understand his love for his car.

Taha Siddiqui said he had been taking care of his precious Mercedes as if it were his own child for 10 years now. “I bought it from a family friend 10 years ago, who had bought it from the consulate general of Oman earlier,” he said dusting off his hands.

“Mercedes, I believe, is the best in German technology. I also have two Volkswagen Beetles, 1968 and 69 models, also German marvels.”

The gleaming silver Mercedes emblems on bonnet fronts or on radiators of the newer models with nice music and good food attracted a big crowd to the show, which went on till late evening. Many of the visitors were young boys eager to listen to the information being shared by the car owners about how they take care of their pride and joy. Except of the recent models, almost all of the cars had been restored with great care.

Rais Matloob Ahmed was displaying his green 1949 170-D (diesel engine) Mercedes Benz, which was the oldest model of the luxury car there. “I acquired it from its previous owners in Karachi only after which I started restoring it five years ago,” he told Dawn.

“At first I thought of having it painted black but then I happened to see the same model in mint condition at a German car show which was green. That’s when I decided to have my car painted green, too. But deciding on the colour was the easy part. Finding parts was the biggest challenge. I had to make numerous visits to the kabari market in Shershah and the parts which I failed to find even there I had to get custom manufactured,” he said.

The car runs perfectly well now and its owner takes it out for a spin on Sundays. “Still, I often lie to my friends that the car is out of order because everyone wants to borrow it from me,” he said. “It is the oldest Mercedes Benz here and it is more expensive even than the latest models due to its classic value.”

Meanwhile, Mohsin Ikram, founder of Motorheads, the organiser of the show, said his own Mercedes Benz, a 1976 280 S-E could not be part of the show as it was still in the stages of restoration. “Still I’m glad to be holding this show just like the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan annual show and the Volkswagen Club of Pakistan show that we also organise,” he said.

“The best part about such shows is opening entertainment venues for the citizens,” he further said. “Then just ahead of such car shows the motor workshops here get so much of business as everyone taking part rushes their cars to them to get them in tip-top shape. So we are also promoting local business with all these eating places also setting up there stalls here,” he added. “Karachi needs this.”

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2016