An integral part of the summer activities in Ooty for the past few years, the vintage car rally of The Nilgiris Vintage and Classic Car Association which was organised at Coonoor on Saturday for the first time turned out to be the talk of the town.
The rally, which commenced at the Sim’s Park, passed through various parts of Coonoor and its surroundings including Bedford, Central Bus
Stand, TDK Pillay road, the Defence Services Staff College and the Madras Regimental Centre before concluding at the Thangaraj stadium where the vehicles including 58 cars and a good number of motorcycles and scooters were displayed till the evening for the people to have a closer look. Hundreds of people lined the route to get a glimpse of the vehicles of yore.
Among the vehicles which caught one’s eye were an Austin 7 (1931), a Morris Cowley (1936), a Woolsley, a Chevrolet fleet master, a bug fiat and a Plymouth.
Speaking to The Hindu , a spokesman of the association said that the event had evoked a good response. Though the season was at its fag end many tourists had enjoyed it. They described it as a rare opportunity. Participants were from Erode, Coimbatore, Salem, Palakkad, Bangalore and The Nilgiris.
A resident hoped that Coonoor would be chosen for more such events.
The chief guest was Brigadier S. Suresh Kumar, Commandant, MRC.