LUNCH WITH GARTH HOGAN
Garth’s passion for cars, especially those of the racing variety, was entirely due to the fact that his father, Ron, was a guru on the Auckland speedway scene, a man who could strip and rebuild a Ford flathead blindfolded. Ron Hogan’s expertise with Fords was such that he became the go-to man across all forms of motor sport for anyone using Henry’s V8. Such was this influence on his only son that Garth remains loyal to the blue oval to this day.
We meet for lunch at the excellent The Stables in Whitford in early November while Garth’s up from Wanaka for a few days. As we glance at the menu, he mentions he’s used his time in his hometown constructively by buying a new vehicle that morning. It’s no surprise to learn it’s a Ford — what else?
Garth was born in Auckland in the late 1940s and shared a tiny house in Point Chevalier with his parents and sister. “From the time I was knee high, there were racing guys around the house — colourful guys like Johnny Riley, Louis Antonievich, Garth Souness, and Red Dawson — and I just loved listening in on all their race talk. There were American magazines, mostly related to hot rods, so I seamlessly went from coming under the influence to total immersion. In our house, if you didn’t talk cars — flathead V8s especially — then you didn’t talk.”
Garth was already hopelessly addicted by
