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For many years, James Ross Sinclair craved a Volvo 343 and so XRU 557Y recently joined his Triumph 2000 Mk. II and his Renault 10. ‘I have an odd almost unexplainable liking for them. Partly the multicultural background, partly the DAF history, the questionable British snob value of a small Volvo, the odd design - and they are genuinely fun to drive too’.

In the eyes of classic car owners, rust is the ultimate enemy. Once it grabs hold of your precious, vintage vehicle, you can feel powerless to do anything about it. From then on, when gazing at your pride and joy, it’s the only thing you can see.

Many of us, over the years, compile a shortlist of cars that we read about in brochures but never encountered in the metal. For example, I cannot recall ever seeing the single-headlamp Vauxhall Cresta PC “Standard”, a Citroën LNA, a Lancia Prisma or a Mitsubishi Tredia on the road.

2019 sees the 30th anniversary of the MX-5 and Lancaster Insurance were proud to be headline sponsors for the MX-5 Owners Club celebrations. This year also sees the Owners Club mark their 25th anniversary, so last weekend’s National Rally was one not be missed!

The Hyundai Coupe Cup mid-season meeting was held at a sunny Snetterton, so for me it was like a home coming. It had already been a fantastic week, as I got married and celebrated my birthday, so I was going into the race meet on a high.

‘Most people haven’t got a clue what it is. Some think it is a Volvo while others read the badging on the front and get it confused with a Borgward’. But to be fair, Peter Frost’s 1963 Wartburg 311 Luxus-Limousine is a fairly exclusive sight, even by the standards of the classic car world.

‘I receive so much respect when I take it for a drive; thumbs up and waves from pedestrians and headlamps flashed by other drivers. And it is small wonder that Tim Mullings’s Morris Marina Jubilee attracts such positive attention for if you owned one of these fine cars some 46 years ago, you would have enjoyed enhancing status in your community.

In the early 1970s, the sort of person who owned a new Triumph 2000 or 2.5 PI Mk. II was an instantly familiar type. They would dress fashionably but not outrageously – think Terry Scott as opposed to Jason King – and they would regard Watney’s Red Barrell as an abomination and Hai Karate aftershave as totally naff.

In the 1970s, a Renault 12 was a vehicle that stood out in virtually any car park. The radiator grille was angular, there were height adjustment levers next to the headlamps (to compensate for heavy loads) and the roof sloped upwards over the rear passenger compartment.

We never learned if the Miss Marples of the Margaret Rutherford series of films for MGM-British owned a motor-car – but if she did, it was likely to have been a well-polished Triumph Renown Limousine.

For owners seeking technical expertise on a Talbot Express, the Talbot Express Owners Club & Forum should be your first point of call for the sheer breadth of knowledge and experience.

On the morning of August Bank Holiday, certain residents of Cowley must have thought they were experiencing a Doctor Who-style time warp, as 60 Minis thundered along the road from the Mini Plant Oxford. The Cavalcade was, of course, a 60th birthday celebration of one of the select few cars that merit the term ‘icon’ and was an event that involved the resources of BMW UK, BBC Radio Oxford, Tanya Field, and countless enthusiasts who gave their time and effort.

HUNDREDS of classic, super and performance cars guaranteed a fantastic weekend to remember as the Lancaster Insurance Passion for Power show lived up to its name.

On 10th January 1989 Roy Williams acquired a 1987-vintage “Diamond White” example of one of the greatest sporting saloons of its era. In the words of Andrew Frankel, ‘in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), the Cosworth RS500 won 40 races on the trot, a number unapproached by any other car before or since’.

Guylaine Bouriaud would be the first to say that few people brought a Citroën Dyane 6 for its blistering top speed, but then it is a car that offers so much else.

My earliest memory of the Mini dates from 1974 when every Thursday a neighbour’s maroon ten-year-old Morris Super De Luxe would transport us to the delights of the Hedge End branch of Fine Fare (‘Jacob’s Cream Crackers – 2p Off!’).

‘I’ve had people ask me “have you cut and welded three cars, because the front looks like an Allegro, the rear looks like a Triumph and the middle section is from an Austin 1300?”’. Ian Creese is used to such comments, as on 4th July 2016 he acquired a version of the ADO16 that was never marketed in the UK – the Austin Apache.

A Mercedes-Benz “Fintail” (“Heckflosse” in Germany) is a car that exudes gravitas and menace in equal measure.

Now in its fourth year, the Lancaster Insurance Pride of Ownership has become a popular feature for competitors and classic car enthusiasts alike at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, with Discovery. Entries are now open for the autumn final to be held at Birmingham’s NEC from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 November.

Classic car insurance specialist, Lancaster Insurance, has revealed it has introduced a two year agreed value added benefit. Live now, the new option allows enthusiasts to carry on their agreed valuation with their renewal should nothing happen or change.