By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
There is nothing like a dame – and the classic car-owning girls featured in the Motor Dames 2016 Calendar agree.
Cherry De Ville, EveElle Scarlett, Loretta Lowbrow and Rebecca DeWrecker among others all showed off their pride and joy in the Geelong-produced calendar while rocking ’40s or ’50s-inspired glam outfits.
The idea was at least partly in response to the usual bikini-clad girls reclining on sports cars, agreed one of the driving forces behind the calendar, photographer Kel Hoy.
Ms Hoy and designer Mel McLean sounded out a few Geelong friends, all owners of classic and restored cars, and spent six months setting up the photos.
The nicknames all came from doing pin-up competitions with a loose network of likeminded female classic-car owners established through Geelong and Melbourne car social clubs.
“Female classic-car owners get a lot more respect these days,” Ms Hoy said.
“The guys say kudos to you. We’re all on an equal par.
“We wanted to do the calendar to celebrate women who put in the hard work on their cars because they all appreciate their cars and take great care of them.”
The cars featured include a 1964 VW Beetle, 1965 XP Falcon, 1948 Hudson, 1967 white Chevy Camaro and a 1968 Mercury Cougar.
Ms Hoy said she thought the calendar was first of its kind in Australia.
“We plan do a few more for the next few years,” she said.
The publication had garnered “a lot of interest” and enjoyed the support of local businesses.
Launched last weekend at Geelong Motor Museum, the calendar can be ordered at facebook.com/RippleDigitalDesigns.
