Max van Alphen

My name is Max van Alphen, quality controller/test driver at ERclassics. I attended Atheneum in high school, after which I started the Automotive Engineering course at the Technical University. After a year of following this training, I found out that my passion was more in combining knowledge and actually being able to make something with your own hands. The TU/e was therefore too theoretical for me, so I started following Automotive Engineering at HBO. In the past 4 years I have learned a lot here, and I will graduate in the summer of 2022.

After a number of part-time jobs as a teenager, I applied for a job at ERclassics in 2014. I was able to work here and started with small jobs such as maintaining the workshop. I have been working at E&R Classics for quite some time now and I am now mainly involved in the technical and optical inspection of sold cars.

My very first car was a 1978 Pontiac Firebird
I bought my first car when I was 18 years old. This was a silver-grey Pontiac Firebird from 1978. I've always loved American vintage cars and Pontiacs in particular. So I've been scouring the internet for a long time to find a nice one. Once I had found a Pontiac that met my needs, I immediately drove that way with my father to inspect it and buy it. I was so happy when he arrived a week later. To this day I still own this American classic and enjoy it every summer season.

My dream car is a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko
As a lover of classic cars, it is of course difficult to choose 1 dream car, since I could make a list of a hundred classics here. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big fan of American classic cars. If I could choose 1 car, I think this would be a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko. And preferably executed in the colour Hugger Orange.

Suppose you had to give someone a lift. Who would that be and why?
I'd like to give Barry Hay a lift, the lead singer of Golden Earring. Besides the fact that he seems like a nice guy to laugh with, it is a nice side effect that he could sing Radar Love live. This is for me the ultimate song when touring in my Pontiac!

What is your best car related memory?
As a lover of American classics, I naturally attend various car events in the Netherlands to admire these beautiful cars. About 10 years ago, however, my father took me to the largest American classic car meeting in the world, in Sweden. Every year around twenty thousand classics come together here, I couldn't believe my eyes! We also appropriately drove there in an old Chevrolet Caprice. I will never forget this experience, and we are already looking forward to going here again in the near future!

What makes a working day at E&R Classics so much fun for you?
Of course the nice working atmosphere and nice colleagues make working at ERclassics very pleasant. In addition, it is always a surprise to me which classics are on the schedule for a final check. Every classic car drives differently and brings out a certain feeling. The great diversity of beautiful youngtimers and classic cars makes every working day great at ERclassics.