Tel-Chai Nation

YnetNews is running a fairly sugary article about a car show put on in Gaza, and what kind of vehicles do they consider their "heritage"?

Kabariti brought eight vehicles to the show, including the oldest car on display - a 1938 Standard Eight he rescued from the scrap heap. Fadel Dabba, 30, displayed a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle his father purchased secondhand in Israel in the 70s and which is still driven by his brother.

'This is our heritage'
When Dabba couldn't import classic Beetle wheel wells, he improvised with fiberglass, discarding the classic bulbous shape for an easier-to-manufacture boxy one that makes the car resemble a miniature Humvee.

Displayed in a lineup of near-pristine-looking 70s Beetles, Dabba's car wasn't that out of place. Other owners, desperate to keep their Beetles on the road, had replaced the insides of their German cars with Japanese engines from newer vehicles more widely present in Gaza.

Mechanic Ismail Khaldy explained how he and Kabariti used local materials to fashion an engine grate and seats for his 1938 Standard Eight. "We went on the Internet and looked at pictures of the original and made it look the same," Khaldy said.

[...]

"This is our heritage," said Kabariti. "These cars are a nice reminder of our history before the Israeli occupation."

Wow, isn't that something: to them, a Volkswagen Beetle, to say nothing of a crummy British car like the Standard Eight, is the car of choice. For me, if I wanted a small car from times past, I'd want one of Citroen's or Chrysler's offerings. Like, for example the first Citroen Type A, or even the famous 2CV. And how about the Chrysler Airflow? Those aren't cars to admire?

Ugh, those who put together that show in Gaza have such poor taste!

Labels: Israel