STORY: Namibian museum preserves antique cars, promotes motor industry heritage
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 9, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 11, 2024
LENGTH: 0:03:05
LOCATION: Windhoek
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the Old Wheelers Museum
2. SOUNDBITE (English): RAINER RUSCH, Chairperson of Old Wheelers Club
3. various of the Old Wheelers Museum activities

STORYLINE:

An antique car museum in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, is preserving and promoting the country's motor industry heritage.

Established in 2019, the Old Wheelers Museum, managed by the 500-member Old Wheelers Club, serves as a sanctuary for vintage vehicles integral to Namibia's history.

It features 50 historic and classic cars, including brands like Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo, Ford, Mazda, Volkswagen, Jeep, and Mercedes-Benz.

The oldest exhibit in the museum is a striking red Chevrolet Coupe, manufactured in 1934 and boasting an impressive 45 KW power output.

The classic cars are exhibited in the museum rotationally for a year.

Other exhibits have been donated to the museum by local club members and are a permanent feature. 

The museum is complemented by regular events such as the Bonnet Up, where individuals showcase their vintage cars outdoors, an opportunity for knowledge exchange on car maintenance.

SOUNDBITE (English): RAINER RUSCH, Chairperson of Old Wheelers Club
"Three or four years ago, we were able to fulfill our dream here with the museum to really showcase these beautiful cars. The main passion is really to preserve these beautiful old shapes. Currently, we are standing here in our museum, and you can see we have some cars behind us. Others, often younger people like to modify it a bit and have some sound and a big engine at it. Our idea here, and next plan is to extend our museum to be able to have more cars on show."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Windhoek.
(XHTV)