Angus has had a passion for cars as long as he can remember! His late brother Johan was a major influence in his love for cars. Johan, 16 years older than Angus, started working in the Motor Industry and driving cars when Angus was around four years old and often let his little brother tag along! Johan had several cars but there was one car in particular that changed Angus’s life forever and ignited a love and passion for cars that will surely never be extinguished: A 1970 Alfa Romeo Junior “Stepnose” in bright orange. The car was magnificent! He remembers the smell of leather and wood trim in the interior and the sweet smell of freshly waxed car on the exterior. The car was always spotless and in this car Angus recalls countless trips with his brother, listening to Simon and Garfunkel, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and many other bands, all on 8 track cassettes!
In 1981 Johan started Midwest Spares and 16-year-old Angus was there, working weekends and school holidays, learning the trade. In 1983 Johan bought a 5-year-old Porsche 911 SC Targa which he restored beautifully and went on to win several awards at the Porsche National Concourse for a few years running.
This car introduced Angus to the Porsche brand and further entrenched him as a car lover for life! Angus continued working part-time at Midwest Spares while at University and after completing his National Service joined Johan at the shop on a permanent basis in 1989.
Angus owned several cars, starting with a 1971 Mini 1000S, a car his mom bought new and by the time he was given the car it had done only 19000 miles! There was also a beautiful Opel Manta, of course, a VW Beetle and a few Alfas, including a red Junior, a GTV 6 and a glorious blue Alfa 155 V6.
Business was tough in the late ’90s and in April 2000 Angus left the family business and joined Porsche SA, starting out in the Parts Department. He soon found himself selling Porsches in the Pre-Owned Department and was very successful at it! In 2003 he was promoted to Pre-Owned Manager and, under the guidance of CEO Toby Venter started to grow and expand the Porsche Pre-Owned business in South Africa. In 2008 Angus was promoted to Group Pre-Owned Manager and was heading up the Porsche Pre-Owned business in South Africa, by now completely dominating the Porsche scene locally and a world leader as well, with several best practices. During his tenure at Porsche Angus drove several Porsches as company cars. Members of his sales team once calculated that he did more than half a million kilometres in 911 GT3 cars specifically; as you can imagine, his favourite car ever!”
Lemon Garage
Angus always wanted to run a business of his own and in 2016 he resigned from Porsche after more than 16 years with the company. The original plan was to have a partner but this did not work out well, resulting in Angus doing another stint in the corporate world by joining Ducati as National Sales Manager in 2017. It was a very enjoyable time, working with great people and learning a lot about the motorbike industry! A Ducati is a very special motorbike and Ducati as a brand is one of the greatest brands out there. Angus’s passions are people and cars though, in that order, and at the beginning of 2018 Lemon Garage starts to operate, “Loving people loving cars!”
When choosing a name for the business several names were considered. Names like “Sports Cars and Classics”, “Country Classics” and also “Thoroughbreds and Classics” were but a few of the options. The name Lemon Garage was also written down and Angus liked it immediately, it felt perfect.
Angus has a great sense of humour and the thought of being able to say to clients “congratulations, you just bought a Lemon“ was simply irresistible! In the Industry buying a “Lemon“ of course means you have bought a bad car, a clunker or a dog. At Lemon Garage this is not the case! You will buy either a rare or a sought after or a well-preserved car, or hopefully a combination of all. Clients can expect the best possible service and an ownership experience second to none, whether purchasing a VW Beetle or an Aston Martin!
The world has become a fast-paced “do as much as you can as quickly as you can” place. In 2012, 60 million cars were produced, 165 000 every day, with major manufacturers telling the world they are going green!?
Modern cars, whilst technically outstanding and boasting outstanding performance figures have become somewhat bland. Yes, there are many exceptions but in general, cars have become so advanced that in some cases the cars do not even need a driver anymore; the driver is a passenger! The “romance of motoring” has somehow gone missing!
Driving and owning a car is and should be fun and an experience! Appreciating the different characteristics that make different cars special in their own unique way is important. Yes, it could very well be an amazing top speed or acceleration time. It could also be an accepted or expected oil leak, or a notorious electrical system that makes a car special! The car can have French flair, or it could be a stately old Rolls. It could be a gleaming red Ferrari or a super light 911 RS, all of them special in their own way. Sometimes you get the same thrill driving a Beetle at 60 km/h as when driving a Porsche at 260 km/h!