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Half a dozen developments that impacted on the British motorists. P.S. After watching the adverts for Green Shield Stamps – don’t have nightmares…

Some of the greatest cars in the history of motoring wear their distinction lightly. You might, for example, have the very good fortune to encounter what looks like a W108 series Mercedes-Benz 300SEL, with every inch of its coachwork exuding discreet good taste.

I’d been to Rockingham many times before to see the MG Owners’ Club Race Championship in action but it was my debut as a competitor and the feeling was incredible!

The year is 1948, the month is October and you are one of 562,954 visitors to the London Motor Show at Earl’s Court. Of course, your chance of owning one of the exhibits are pretty slim; the government allocated steel to car manufacturers on the basis on their being able to sell their wares overseas – 75% was the target – and the home market waiting list extends for literally years.

Or, ten very individual ways to carry luggage and passengers without spending a monarch’s ransom on fuel -

There is something purposeful about a Dolomite; the quad headlamps, the slightly aggressive stance and the wooden veneered dashboard with its ‘All Systems Go’ warning lamp cluster.

For Round 1 of the BRSCC Mazda Season the team took the 73 mile trip from Haverhill to the world-famous Brands Hatch circuit in Kent on March 23rd and 24th.

In the 1970s when the world was young, Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves were the stars of Blue Peter, and when kipper ties were still in the vanguard of fashion, cars such as the Fiat 132 occupied that strange middle-ground between the Cortina and the Granada markets.

This month goes to Enthusiasts of British Motor Vehicles, a non-subscription Facebook-based group founded in 2014 which is dedicated to the enjoyment and celebration of classic British motoring.

There are many of us - i.e. people of an age to remember the time of The Protectors on ITV, Spangles and when crimplene flared slacks were the height of fashion – who regard the Vauxhall Firenza as an underrated coupe.

These gems – and so many others – may be found on the utterly addictive History of Advertising Trust website. Enjoy!

Some cars have the power to form vague yet disquieting images in the mind, like a half-remembered horror film, and one such ran along the lines of ‘was there really a Cadillac-badged version of the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk. II?’.

The Earls Court Motor Show 1965 marked the official debut of Toyota in the UK, and in the following year, various print advertisements tempted Ford Cortina, BMC 1100 and Vauxhall Viva owners to the charms of ‘one of the world’s most reliable cars’ - the RT40 series Corona.

The gulf between a 1992 Impreza and their original Subaru of 1958 would initially appear to be wider than the Grand Canyon, yet despite the former being an acclaimed sports saloon and the latter being barely able to achieve 50 mph in 37 seconds; both were the ideal cars for their respective eras.

A major pleasure of the classic world is encountering a car that you a) had only ever read about and b) were convinced had completely vanished off the face of the planet. A vehicle that fulfils both of these criteria – the Austin Metro Cooper was shown at the NEC show last month.

Our 2018 Hyundai Coupe Cup kicked off at Silverstone on 24th-25th March 2018, with the first two rounds held on a very wet national circuit. After hustling for pole position in qualifying and ultimately getting 2nd for race one, I was confident I had the pace to defend my 2017 Coupe Cup crown.

You could not miss an Austin Allegro Equipe, even at midnight, in the middle of the fog during a power cut. It was not just the way in which the orange and red stripes complemented the metallic silver coachwork; it was the black spoiler, the GKN alloy wheels and the front fog lamps. Inside there was an alloy-spoked steering wheel, all-black headling and the orange & black houndstooth check upholstery. This was not merely a two-door 1750 HL with ideas above its station – this was executive living, late 1970s style.

One of the side effects of the passage of time, apart from noticing how young police officers look, is that how certain once respected cars slowly vanish from our roads. In the very late 1970s and early 1980s, the Vauxhall Carlton was the vehicle of choice for sober-minded accountants and bank managers but now they look as fascinatedly dated as an episode of The Young Ones.

Many of you will have already heard the news that Mazda plans a return to rotary power next year. According to an interview with AutoRai.NL, Martijn ten Brink, the Vice President of Sales and Customer Service for the company's European division, the idea is to offer the company’s forthcoming electric car with a ‘range extender in the form of a Wankel engine’. And such an announcement is especially timely as 1978 marks the 40th birthday of the RX-7.

The passing of Bill Maynard on the 30th March has made me think of both a certain Rover P6B that was in some need of restoration – and of the many and various cars that made in an impact of so many viewers. Sometimes they were associated with the run of the series, sometimes they make, but one appearance but the memories abide after many decades…