Despite the great popularity and the even greater number of "young classics" still on the road, events and meetings for 20 to 30-year-old cars are still comparatively few and far between. Although youngtimers are a popular trend, few people want to focus on them.
The organizers of the informal get-together in Pratteln on 17 July 2016 did not want to focus solely on youngtimers, but also invited older cars over the age of 30 to the canton of Baselland.
However, the fact that the younger cars in particular are also highly valued was documented by the name of the meeting, which precedes "Youngtimer" in the name.
A success story
This was only the second time that the "TCS Youngtimer & Classictreffen" event had taken place and it had already grown considerably.
While there were around 300 cars at the first event, there were over 850 vehicles in 2016. And spectators without old cars also came in large numbers, so that around 2000 fans strolled between the cars.
The participants traveled from many parts of Switzerland, but also from neighboring countries.
Quite colorful and diverse
From 09:00 in the morning, the more or less old cars streamed into the industrial area in Pratteln and were distributed to various parking spaces. This resulted in a colorful picture, because especially the younger cars often shone in the most colorful paintwork. An orange VW Corrado, a blue Opel Kadett, a red VW Golf Mk 2, a green Porsche Turbo, a gold Opel Rekord, a yellow Buggy, a silver Opel Manta - there was hardly a color that you couldn't see on a car somewhere.
From the former bread-and-butter car to the fast mid-engine sports car, everything that the roads offered back in the eighties or nineties arrived. But their ancestors could also be admired, as they made up well over half of the vehicles. Even pre-war cars made an appearance and the great interest shown by the many car enthusiasts wandering around showed that they were not in the wrong place.
Overall, the average age was probably well over 30 years.
Original and original
Anyone strolling through the rows of younger and older cars quickly realized that the concept of "original" carries much more weight with the older cars than with the younger ones.
Many youngtimers presented themselves passionately altered and modified, but no less loved than the classic vintage cars.
From Abarth to Vokswagen
Of course, the German makes were particularly well represented, whether they were called Volkswagen, Opel, Ford or Audi. The Borgward brand also had a surprisingly large number of representatives and even rarities such as the DKW 3=6 or the NSU Prinz mingled with the vehicles.
There was also a highly visible contingent of Japanese cars, including rarities such as the Mitsubishi Starion, an early Subaru Impreza WRX STI and several versions of the Toyota Supra. Honda was represented by the NSX, CRX and S800, among others, and even a Nissan Skyline, which was never officially sold here, could be spotted.
And of course there was no shortage of Porsches, with the four-cylinder transaxle models well represented, but of course the 911 variants were not conspicuous by their absence and the 914 also made an appearance.
The Americans were also conspicuous, of course, because with their generous dimensions, chrome applications and exuberant shapes, they could not be overlooked.
Of course, there were also some truly exotic cars on display, be it the Hillman Imp, the Mercedes-Benz 300 or pre-war models from Packard.
And those who had had enough of the cars could also enjoy the tractors and some motorcycles. Or eat a sausage and drink a beer, as there was no shortage of food stands.
Like the FNA meetings of old
The whole event was somewhat reminiscent of the former FNA (Friends of Nostalgic Cars) meetings that used to take place in the parking lot of Möbel Pfister in Suhr or the Seedamm Center in Pfäffikon.
The older cars that had not yet matured into classic cars were just as informal and diverse back then. Almost a déja vu.
Introducing younger people to the subject
You have to praise the organizers for what they are doing here. With the younger cars, younger people are also entering the scene, bringing new ideas and approaches. That's a good thing! The fact that they perhaps look after and maintain their cars to a different standard is simply part of it.
