We’ve already walked through the Dubai show a couple of times together, first focusing on the Japanese metal and then what showed up outside the event. But there’s still significantly more to cover from what was one of the most surprising events I’ve been to in a while.
I do have a small confession to make: I’m probably not showing you everything, nor have I ever shown you everything from the countless events I’ve covered over the years. There’s a good reason for it, and I’m certainly not alone here. But naturally, I’m only showing you what I choose to see at any given event. This and the previous stories are essentially MADE through my eyes.
Whether this is a good or bad thing will be up to each one of you to decide, but I will say that while I always try to bring you as much as possible, it’s natural that I’m going to be attracted to cars and approaches which appeal to me the most.
I’ve always said that cars are always best experienced in person, to ensure you get to see what you want to see, so I guess this is just another reason to encourage you to attend events yourself. Not even Speedhunters can perfectly replicate what it’s like to attend, although we certainly do try.
As an example of this, I generally shy away from modern American cars for the most part. It’s not because I don’t like them, but it’s because I can’t really relate to them.
With the exception of the Mustang, none of the other headline performance and sports cars from the US are available to me in Ireland, so I just simply don’t concern myself with them. And why would I? Especially when there are countless Japanese and European cars available to me.
That’s the beauty of shows like MADE that strive to achieve equal qualitative representation across all automotive sub-cultures. It’s tapas, but for cars. Small tasters of everything to help you to see more, learn more, and appreciate more of our motoring world, but only if you’re open to it.
Honestly though, I wouldn’t know why anyone wouldn’t want more cars in their life, even if they’re difficult to relate to. At the very least, there’s always fresh inspiration to be found by expanding your borders.
When I was planning this trip, I don’t think I ever expected to be so impressed by a relatively small and free-to-attend show. Despite being only MADE’s second year running, it’s incredible to see how quickly the organisers have been able to dial in on what they want to achieve.
It’s not as easy as it looks, and it’s far more than just sending out some invites and arranging a space.
I didn’t expect to be so impressed by MADE, but I was. I also hadn’t counted on this gathering forming the basis of the rest of my trip to the United Arab Emirates, from potential feature cars to shops, and most importantly, to people. But it did.
Sometimes you don’t need to hunt the speed, you can just let it come to you. But you need to be open to all of it.
Paddy McGrath
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Twitter: pmcgphotos
paddy@speedhunters.com