In September 2024 I recieved a call from Alex Forrest, former motoring editor of The West Australian newspaper and now working at the RAC. Alex had written a feature about my Tatra for The West shortly after I had purchased the car in 2014. The West, like so many newspapers, later dropped all local reporters in favour internet 'reporting' and puff. It's crap but its cheap. Alex moved on. He had pitched to the RAC a new series of print articles and video features showcasing interesting vehicles in Perth. The series was called "In my garage" and he asked if me and my Tatra agree to be the first feature. "Well, hell yes!"
It certainly sounds like a simple premise. Alex and I (and other owners later) would have a chat about our vehicles and go for a drive. It isn't easy however. When I do my driving videos it's just me talking off the cuff and enjoying a drive. It's easy enough to edit out some of the guff if I go off on a tangent or forget what I'm talking about. There have been many times I've looked back at the video and thought - straight to the bin with that. If I don't publish a video, who cares? I'll do another one when I feel I have something to say. But working on a professional video requires a degree of professionalism. "Maybe do that one again." is something that was said a lot. Another thing, it's hard to have a normal, natural conversation when you are being filmed. Alex would say something, I would mess up my reply. The director would step in and tell us what he wanted. Neither of us would be comfortable and it would show. "Let's do that again but more naturally." It was an interesting experience.
"Let's do that again..."
That all said, it was a brilliant experience and, while it took a while to get into the swing, both Alex and I had our groove on by the time we finished filming. It only took four hours, which is pretty quick as far as these things go. The team at RAC have turned those four hours into an excellent fourteen minute video. Enjoy!
Check out the RAC article here: https://rac.com.au/car-motoring/info/in-my-garage-ep-1
Alex Forrest's first article about the Tatra: https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2020/09/tatra-epitome-of-rear-engine-cool.html
