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The 12th November 1949 marked the press launch of a rather remarkable commercial vehicle. It was a van that was essentially a box on wheels, with access to the load bay via side doors and a rear engine. Its standards of handling, gearchange and steering surpassed virtually all domestic rivals, and the new Volkswagen Type 2 looked set for a long career.

‘Most people think it is either an Innocenti or a British Mini with Innocenti bits – about one person per year recognises it as an Authi’.

Rotary Clubs distributed a total of £61,000 to one national and 18 local charities at Sherborne Castle on 8th November. Nigel Young, Chairman of Trustees for the Sherborne Classic Cars CIO, said ‘This was a truly astonishing result following 12 months of work by the Organising Committee from members of the Yeo Vale, Sherborne Castles and Brue Valley Rotary Clubs.'

You really could not miss the Ford Mustang on the Lancaster Insurance stand at the 2019 Classic Motor Show. It was a vehicle so stunning that Mr. Steven McQueen himself would have undoubtedly fallen in love with it, had he entered a time portal during the planning for Bullitt.

Such was the impact of the 2019 Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, no mere report could possibly do it justice. Here are just 50 impressions of the event from our resident blog writer Andrew Roberts:

Growing up in a Hampshire village where the local newspaper would bear a headline such as ‘Chaos As Radical New Strawberry Punnet Design Is Unveiled’, a Ford Escort Ghia Mk. II appeared the epitome of high living.

Every Ford Capri is special, but some are more special than others. Here are ten examples from the Heyday of the Limited Edition Capri.

For the past 71 years, Land-Rover has been associated with serving the public – police, fire, ambulance, coast-guard, mountain rescue – and, of course, the AA and the RAC.

Many of you have been following https://www.facebook.com/italianjobmini/ and will be very familiar with Tanya Field’s Cooper S Mk III, which goes by the nom-de-Mini of “Paddy”.

‘A lot of people mention The Sweeney, and most assume it is the 3-litre - despite the badging on the wings’. But his splendid Ford is actually a 2-Litre G and, as it dates from April 1977, it is one of the last of examples of the Mk. I before the launch of the Mk. II.

One of the many attractions of the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show is the opportunity to play Top Trumps – a game that will resonate with many of my vintage.

If you watch virtually any British police drama of the 1970s, you might have the idea that every vehicle that was not a Flying Squad Ford Consul GT was a Rover P6B or a Triumph 2.5 PI Mk. II. However, one vehicle that was equally associated with law enforcement was the BLMC ADO16 Panda Car.

As the London – Brighton Veteran Car Run 2019 takes place this Sunday - https://www.veterancarrun.com/ - we are proud to present (cue Tim Turner-style jolly voiceover), a tribute to one of Britain’s greatest films; Genevieve

Britain’s first motorway, the Preston By-pass, commenced operations on the 5th December 1958 but this new highway promised a brave new world, one where motorists would eventually be able to travel to and from London with no speed limits.

Was 1959 the year of the ultimate Motor Show? Some readers might argue that this might be more applicable to the 1948 event. Others consider it was 1955, 1962 or 1970.

What is the most famous Ford Capri in the history of British cinema and television?

THE ITALIAN JOB 50thANNIVERSARY with ART by BEX - BEX CELEBRATES THE ICONIC ITALIAN JOB ANNIVERSARY WITH HER EXCLUSIVE SIGNED ARTWORKS

We sometimes forget how slow-paced life in the recent past could be; telephone calls that took aeons for the local exchange to connect, television sets that took minutes to warm up and cars that appeared to take centuries to reach 60 mph. The Hillman Husky never had any pretensions to speed, but it provided reliable and honest transport for many years after the end of production.

‘The public reaction to my Austin-Healey tends to be a selection of the following – “I had one of those in the past but had to because of wedding/divorce/university fees” - or something of the nature – or “I had to stop being silly when I got married and had to buy a practical car”’.

If you’ve only ever driven cars until now, the prospect of getting behind the wheel of a motorhome might seem pretty daunting. The thought of scraping the side of your new pride and joy as you attempt to make a manoeuvre is not pleasant at all.