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The burning question: Does Malta really need a museum for classic cars when so many of the cars still on the roads could easily fit into that very bracket? It is a most valid question when you consider the fact that many Maltese still believe they buy a car for a lifetime.
Some of the cars, trucks and buses one sees on the road are like long-lost memories on wheels. It is not infrequent to watch open-mouthed visitors eagerly taking pictures and smoothly running their fingers across the ample bodies of these sturdy models from the past. But there is another reason – Maltese mechanics can do miracles and cars that elsewhere would have given up their ghosts decades ago, are still working perfectly here, thank you. So, again, why the museum?
Situated within the luxurious Vela Vista Complex in Qawra, Malta, the “Classic Car Collection” is the island’s first public automobile museum. It is privately owned by Carol Galea, an avid car enthusiast who first started customizing cars for local hill climbs until his pastime grew into a passion for classic cars.
The museum’s mission statement, declaring its aim “to educate and entertain visitors whilst trying to create awareness for the preservation of classic cars”, comes as no surprise given the national obsession with old and classic cars.
It is hoped that the radiant working models you can still see on the road will gradually find their way to a museum where, like horses on retirement in the open fields, they will find a better life, their masters still happy to see them and enjoy them, their feats repeated and their glory days retold for many generations to come.
For more info, visit their website on www.classicarsmalta.com
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