<p>A convoy of vintage cars and bikes hit the streets of Bengaluru on January for a polio awareness campaign, ahead of National Immunisation Day on January 31.</p>.<p>Jointly organised by Rotary District 3190 and Karnataka Vintage and Classic Cars Club, the rally had 44 vintage cars, and seven vintage bikes.</p>.<p>Balachandra Yadalam, secretary of the Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club, took out two of his cars for the rally – a 1949 Buick and a 1952 Chevy. The cars have been in the family for over seven decades.</p>.<p>The Buick came back to life about 15 years ago and is now one of the few totally original Buicks in India.</p>.<p>“You have to sometimes import the spares and getting them is a challenge. It is expensive to maintain these cars, but they are prized possessions and we wouldn’t trade them for anything,” says Yadalam. </p>.<p>Another such rare car, said to be the only one in the country, is the 1932 Cadillac V8 Town Sedan owned by Vasanth Kumar.</p>.<p>He imported from the USA, and restored it to full functionality in India. He has taken his car out for rallies in support of various causes.</p>.<p>“We had to do test runs for almost a month in advance before the polio awareness rally as sure-handed mechanics for my model are only available in Mumbai and Delhi. Sometimes we send the car there for maintenance and repair,” he says.</p>.<p>Anupama is another car aficionado from Bengaluru. She owns two vintage cars: a 1951 Morris Minor and a 1947 Chevy Fleetmaster.</p>.<p>Her cars have participated in the Dasara procession in Mysuru and she has won the second position in a vintage car race. But all the glory from those vintage wheels comes at a<br />cost.</p>.<p>The cars call for regular maintenance, and mechanics are not easy to come by. The biggest challenge is to find spares, since these cars have long gone out of production.</p>
<p>A convoy of vintage cars and bikes hit the streets of Bengaluru on January for a polio awareness campaign, ahead of National Immunisation Day on January 31.</p>.<p>Jointly organised by Rotary District 3190 and Karnataka Vintage and Classic Cars Club, the rally had 44 vintage cars, and seven vintage bikes.</p>.<p>Balachandra Yadalam, secretary of the Karnataka Vintage and Classic Car Club, took out two of his cars for the rally – a 1949 Buick and a 1952 Chevy. The cars have been in the family for over seven decades.</p>.<p>The Buick came back to life about 15 years ago and is now one of the few totally original Buicks in India.</p>.<p>“You have to sometimes import the spares and getting them is a challenge. It is expensive to maintain these cars, but they are prized possessions and we wouldn’t trade them for anything,” says Yadalam. </p>.<p>Another such rare car, said to be the only one in the country, is the 1932 Cadillac V8 Town Sedan owned by Vasanth Kumar.</p>.<p>He imported from the USA, and restored it to full functionality in India. He has taken his car out for rallies in support of various causes.</p>.<p>“We had to do test runs for almost a month in advance before the polio awareness rally as sure-handed mechanics for my model are only available in Mumbai and Delhi. Sometimes we send the car there for maintenance and repair,” he says.</p>.<p>Anupama is another car aficionado from Bengaluru. She owns two vintage cars: a 1951 Morris Minor and a 1947 Chevy Fleetmaster.</p>.<p>Her cars have participated in the Dasara procession in Mysuru and she has won the second position in a vintage car race. But all the glory from those vintage wheels comes at a<br />cost.</p>.<p>The cars call for regular maintenance, and mechanics are not easy to come by. The biggest challenge is to find spares, since these cars have long gone out of production.</p>