Our Hobby
Preserving our old vehicles gives us great pleasure which we want to share with other people. Younger generations can experience “live” technology of the past, and the older ones enjoy their memories of bygone days.
The dedicated aim of the AVCA is the preservation of pre WW 2 vehicles, i.e. a particularly small stock of vehicles, giving everybody great pleasure – owners, passengers and spectators alike.
Of course, younger ones are equally welcome, be it vehicles or AVCA members. For the future, too, will eventually turn into history, that´s for sure.
The oldtimer hobby doesn´t have any barriers – it unites friends around the globe thus creating social contacts without boundaries. It´s not money but sheer enthusiasm that unites us across borders with no age limit at all – old vehicles win the sympathy of even the smallest children.
The owners may have old age vehicles, but certainly not old-fashioned views. They are aware of their environmental responsibility. Hence they are considerate and defensive drivers, at the same time endeavouring to conserve their aged vehicle.
The share of oldtimers of the annual total mileage in the EU countries is just 0.7% and can therefore be neglected in terms of ecological damage.
71% of all the registered oldtimers in the EU countries do an annual mileage of less than 1,500 kms. They are road legal in accordance with their national homologation rerquirements including emission regulations.
Oldtimers are being used only occasionally and driven at low speed. As a consequence, one rediscovers the quality of travelling at adapted speed while enjoying the small natural wonders alongside the road, the beauty and the smell of meadows, flowers and forests. Million values are a fairy tale: 78% of all known oldtimers represent a value of less than € 15,000. Getting into this hobby is often even below this amount. What really counts is the pleasure of the restoration work. One looks out for and soon finds like-minded friends, of whom one can learn skills and techniques long forgotten. The comparatively simple technology of old vehicles enables one to do much work at home thus keeping expenses at low level.
The oldtimer movement represents a stable economic factor in the EU with an annual turnover of more than 16 billion Euros. Approx. 55,000 people owe their jobs to relevant enterprises specialising in preserving and maintaining historic vehicles.