PEOPLE POWER

WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT 36 YEARS OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS - AND MOST DEMOCRATICALLY AWARDED - HONOUR IN OUR SPORT: STREET MACHINE OF THE YEAR

- SIMON TELFORD

WHEN you mail off that envelope, you'll be joining us in creating history." That's what we said as we launched the Street Machine of the Year award in 1988. Cheviot wheels stumped up $10,000, Pioneer threw in a top-rank hi-fi system, and just like today, it was winner takes all.

Alan Cooper romped home with his twin-engined HQ ute, BLOBAK 2, to take that first SMOTY award. Despite what you might think, the ute was regularly street driven, as Alan insisted a street machine should be.

Two more HQs followed Dave Bennett's Monaro and Ron Barclay's near-stock ute before Craig Parker broke the monopoly in '91 with his TUFFXY Fairmont, giving Ford the first of 10 titles. And yes, he later became (and remains) a vital part of the Street Machine team.

Frank Piccolo's bright orange, blown XB GT scored 1992's prize, making it back-to-back SMOTY wins for Aussie Fords, while in 1993, Frank Rejtano's Corvette became the first nonAussie model to win the title.

Some real controversy arrived the following year, when the SM staff decided the winner in-house.