Two days later and the crowds had arrived in their masses to see the vehicles that James May judged to be the best in the exhibition.

"The sections are- Best Engine, Best Bodywork, Best Spoiler, Most Comfortable to Drive, Vehicle of the Most Historical Significance, and simply, the Vehicle James May Liked the Most!" Olli called from the familiar podium, to cheers and whistles from all round the hall. James May himself smiled and took the podium from Olli.

"Thank you, Olli. Now, I will start with a small announcement, and, for those of you who have watched my car show, it actually is a short announcement and will not last in excess of one hour."

Many of the audience laughed, and the men in the Subaru polo shirts laughed the loudest, much to the amusement of some of the people around them.

"I would just simply like to add a section on to the ones that Olli announced for me, and show the audience our latest exhibition. As you all know, this Vehicle Show was under threat because of a man named Harold Marchbanks, the owner of the Morgan Exhibition-" he pointed to the area where the Morgan Exhibition used to be, and was now just a shell with the bashed Ferrari F430 Scuderia Fred had crashed on it- "and I would just like to draw the audience's attention to the Ferrari that is there now. That Ferrari was driven, at estimated speeds of around fifty miles an hour, which I would like to say is generally fatal and could well have proved so for the driver of the Ferrari, into the so-called Phantom Car that was plaguing the exhibition and threatened to kill me, nearly succeeding. The Phantom Car was controlled by Harold Marchbanks, who is now in prison and ready to be charged with several crimes. But the Ferrari F430 Scuderia, our new exhibition, had a less malicious driver, namely Fred Jones, leader of Mystery Inc. It was thanks to Mystery Inc. and their well-hatched and rather cunning plan that the Phantom Car was subdued and its driver taken into prison. If that had not happened, well, ladies and gentlemen, I might not be standing here today to tell you this."

The Subaru men looked horrified, and many faces in the crowd looked sombre.

"However, I am. Thanks to Mystery Inc.!"

A cheer rose from the crowd as the four teens and dog made their way up to the podium, smiling and seemingly happy, although Fred was still moping for the Mystery Machine.

"And I did say that there was a new small competition that I have decided to make. It's not one that the Vehicle Show has ever seen before, but it's one that, given the current circumstances, needs to be put in and will probably bring quite a lot of pleasure to a certain group of people. It's called the Van that Olli Accidentally Stole and Now Needs to Be Returned to Mystery Inc.!"

Many people in the audience laughed, but as the heads turned and a very familiar van made its way into the hall, more members of the audience laughed at the shout of "THE MYSTERY MACHINE!" that came from Fred and his rapid descent from the podium and run over to the van.

"Um, Freddy, while you're over there with the van…" Olli called into the microphone, taking over from James May.

Laughter once again filled the hall, and Fred looked a little sheepish, but nowhere near as sheepish as Olli looked.

"You remember the name of this particular competition, ladies and gentlemen- it is the Van that Olli Accidentally Stole and Now Needs to Be Returned to Mystery Inc. competition. And that's what happened. Mystery Inc. were forced to leave their van unattended and unlocked while they were in the process of solving the mystery, and I mistook the van for the Chevrolet Sportvan Deluxe that was due to be delivered to the Vehicle Show for the Chevrolet exhibition. Therefore, I took the van. I thought that it was a replica of the Mystery Machine, you see. Fred will be very pleased to know that the van has had a replacement engine put in, new brakes and a few other parts of the van replaced or mended. It took a bit of a battering on the way here, and it was probably due for repairs when I actually took it."

"It needed some work," laughed Velma, who was wondering how much delight Fred could pack into his expression before he fainted of joy.

"Anyway, since we took the van and Fred had to drive that Ferrari into the Phantom Car for us, we thought that we could just add the van repairs in free of charge without having to take any money away from your reward for helping us. Thanks, guys, and I'm sorry."

The audience erupted into applause and the rest of the gang walked over to join Fred in the Mystery Machine, which was in pristine condition, having had a wash and a few repairs. Fred turned the keys in the ignition after a nod from Olli and, to more cheers and applause than they thought the hall could withstand, the gang drove the Mystery Machine out into the car park, the gang reunited with their van.

Velma sat back in the soft upholstery (she noted that it had had a vacuum and the seats had been given a little more stuffing) and smiled.

"You know what song this reminds me of?"

""All's Well That Ends Well"? suggested Daphne.

"No. I was thinking of that lean mean song. The triumph of getting our van back."

Shaggy grinned from the back.

"Like, it's a lean, mean Mystery Machine…"

And the five inhabitants laughed as the van drew up in a parking space, the doors opened and they headed back to the Vehicle Show they had saved.

Fred turned as they walked back, with a huge smile still on his face, and held the keys up, pressing the lock button. With a soft "beep-beep", the doors clicked shut. He put the keys back in his pocket, still gazing at his beloved van, and walked back in just in time to hear the words:

"And the Car that James May Likes the Most is… the crashed Ferrari F430 Scuderia, on grounds of character!"

THE END