Staff Reporter
Ricky’s Custom Car Show, organised by Ricky Hill, has been attracting car aficionados for the last nine years and this weekend was no exception when the latest edition of the annual custom car show, which was for the first time held indoors. This year’s show was held in one of the massive halls at the old Ramatex complex and according to Hill more than 3000 people showed up to get a closeup look to appreciate car customisation at its finest.
Held under the theme “Show Fest”, this year’s show attracted 15 automotive parts suppliers and a wide variety of customised cars, bakkies and bikes. One of the main attractions at this year’s show was a BMW F30, which Hill and his partners customised within 45 minutes with about N$50 000 worth of unique parts.
“This was the best show we have ever had. Just the mere fact that the show was indoors for the first time ever, was a great hit. There was no dust, we were out of the sun and the crowd really appreciated the fact that we were indoors,” said Hill.
In the largely lucrative car market, unique customised items are one way of luring those with enough disposable income to soend on vehicle customisation.
Mass production came of age in the 20th century, with the promise of cheap products available to almost anyone. However, the price of achieving this was uniformity. To keep costs down, items on the assembly line needed to be largely identical.
“Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black,” said pioneering car maker Henry Ford. But not even he could completely snuff out all desire for individuality. At various times during its production life, the famous Ford Model T was available in a range of colours, not just black.
Now, a century on from the introduction of Henry Ford’s assembly line, many are entering the era of “mass customisation”, where a growing number of vehicles are offered in a huge range of variations to suit individual tastes.