As an Australian, seeing this many hi-performance European luxury cars in one place is a rare experience. The only other time I witnessed ferraris, maseratis and porsches in the one place was outside the Monte Carlo Casino whilst on holiday.

This Dodge pickup belonged to my husband's late grandfather and sat abandoned in a paddock on their property in the Southern Tablelands of NSW for decades. Having been out there many times for cracker nights and bonfires, in 2008 I finally decided to buy the dodge from the family to get it back on the road. 

Every time I visit John the Mercedes Man (that's how he answers the phone) he has something from the M-B past in different states of restoration. Seeing this 190SL sitting on the lift waiting its full restoration... I kinda nearly fell over.  As he tells me what other models are arriving for him to bring back to life for a collector, it made me consider leaving my life behind and trying on the trophy-wife-strategy on whoever this rich collector was (male/female... who cares?).

After two successful crowdfunding campaigns to produce a film about their story in 2012 and 2014, the final film about Speed Sisters Noor, Marah, Mona, Maysoon and Betty is being premiered in Toronto at Hot Docs Canadian International Film Festival on April 29 – May 2.

Yep, it’s got to be up there with one of the most important relationships in your life. Partner, Family, Bestie… Mechanic? But how do you know if you’re onto a good thing or being played? Luckily for us, Adrian from the Rising Sun Workshop is on hand to help us out.

So I finally found the right mechanic for my 1971 Mercedez-Benz 230 and can't have asked for better. I mentioned previously she needed some TLC but with John, she also got a plan of action for her restoration. I'm calling this workshop her retreat where she goes to detox, restore and re-enter the world functioning better.

The Lady Mechanic Initiative was founded by Nigeria's first female mechanic over a decade ago to give women who face many discriminations in Nigeria a chance at a profession. Their mission is to empower women and girls who are labelled indigent, victims of human trafficking, a widow or a any women who want to learn a profession within the automotive industry through the technical and mechanic skills they teach. 

Living in suburban Sydney, while on the surface it looks a lot like most middle-class suburbs, what's unseen is the village system we operate in, governed largely by older generations of immigrant Greeks. I love this system and I hate it. Recently I was reminded of this conundrum when the alternator on 'Sophia' (my 1971 Mercedes-Benz 230) stopped powering most of the electrics. Instead of booking it into an auto electrician who specialises in this kinda of fix, the village stepped in...

As an architect, I often get caught in conversations where I’m pegged as the “designer” who knows nothing about engineering, budgeting, building and lets not forget how we destroy the planet. At one level, being a designer is revered but in the industry I work in, it seems us “designers” are just flamboyant artists who get in the way. Hence I looked to the man behind my Mercedes-Benz 230 for inspiration...

While it is totally rational to think I could have bought a reliable late 90’s holden for the same price and it would have air conditioning, electrics working, be fuel efficient etc etc… the real rational question to ask is… does it make me smile? Meet my new drive (and love) 1971 Mercedes-Benz 230.