Four Scarfies To Hit The Road In Coveted ''Scabs''

Tuesday, 11 November 2003, 3:41 pm
Press Release: Vodafone

11 November 2003
News release

The coolest cars in Otago are now being driven by the luckiest four students in town.

The squad of “scabs” – scarfie cabs – which have been ferrying loyal Otago NPC fans to and from games for free have been handed over to their new owners.

The four cars, hand painted by the Otago NPC players, included a 1974 Holden Belmont, a 1980 Chrysler Valiant, a 1984 Holden Commodore and a 1985 Holden Commodore.
Vodafone made them available to students to “scab” a ride from central points around Dunedin to celebrate the company’s sponsorship of the Otago NPC team.

“The scabs were incredibly popular and allowed students used to walking to enjoy a ride in an eye-catching classic car,” said Vodafone general manager of communications and sponsorship Lynley Kirk-Smith.

“We also gave scarfies the chance to win the cars. Every fan that caught a ride on a home game day was given a voucher to hand in at their local Vodafone store. We then picked four winners – one for each car.”

The lucky four were Andrew Gavin (20) who won the Chrysler Valiant, Mat Hellyer (21) who’ll be driving one of the Holden Commodores, Lynelle McKeown (18) who took home the Holden Belmont and Melissa Manley (19) who scored the second Holden Commodore.

Gavin, from Whangarei, who is doing a health science course, was probably the keenest scabbie of all. “I rode in the cars about 120 times - as often as I could - and scabbed all my friends’ vouchers as well. I handed in at least 200 because I really wanted to win. I don’t have a car and I wanted a free one.

“My mates are pretty stoked – they said it’s just like me to get something for nothing. I just hope I can afford to run it.”

Hellyer, from Alexandra, who has one semester to go of his marketing tourism degree at Otago University and lives just down the road from Gavin, also put in dozens of vouchers.

He doesn’t have a car either and says he’ll use his new vehicle to ferry his mates around. His friends are very impressed with his win – “and perhaps just a bit jealous”.

McKeown, from Mayfield in Canterbury, is in her first year of a sporting performance course at the sports institute, and said she needed to win because her existing car is “scabbier than a scab car and won’t pass its next warrant”.

She’s going to use her “wicked” prize for long haul trips up country to home and says her Holden Belmont will be the envy of her mates.

“My friends are all petrol heads and my boyfriend drives a Kingswood so I’ll fit right in. I’ve always wanted a car where my mates say they want it and now I’ve finally got one.”

Manley, from Palmerston North, is doing a bachelor of science and geography and a bachelor of applied science. She has a Toyota Corolla back home but will be using her new car – with its “awesome paint job” - for big trips. “We’ll definitely take it to the slopes at Cardrona to go skiing.”

Vodafone New Zealand has been the major sponsor of Otago rugby NPC team since October 2000 and has recently signed up for a further three-year term.

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About Vodafone:
Vodafone New Zealand Ltd is part of Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile telecommunications company with more than 119 million customers worldwide. The company has interests in 28 countries over five continents.

Vodafone New Zealand has 1.29 million customers on its fully digital network and provides coverage to 97 per cent of the places where we work, live and play.

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