Lancaster News

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Welcome to Lancaster Insurance News

Keep up to date with the latest news and events from the world of classic cars.

April’s Club of the Month!

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 17th April, 2018

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.

DO YOU REMEMBER THE VAUXHALL FIRENZA?

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 17th April, 2018

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.

60 YEARS OF THE ORIGINAL SUBARU

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 13th April, 2018

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.

TOP TEN SUPER-NAFF CAR AND CAR-RELATED COMMERCIALS

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 13th April, 2018

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

Old Toyota Adverts

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 13th April, 2018

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.

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? – THE CADILLAC CIMARRON

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 13th April, 2018

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?’.

AUSTIN METRO COOPER SURVIVES!

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 13th April, 2018

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.

NEWSREELS OF THE WEEK – THE JOYS OF MOTORING IN SNOW

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 13th April, 2018

The cold. The road conditions. The railways in chaos, although the idea of frozen water falling from the skies should be fairly well established by now. The power cuts and the daytime television that makes you wish that the power was off again.

Alex Cursley Hyundai Coupe Cup 2018 Round 1 and 2 Review

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 12th April, 2018

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.

What were they thinking? - The Austin Allegro Equipe

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 6th April, 2018

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.

Do you remember the Vauxhall Carlton Mk.1?

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 6th April, 2018

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.

Ten Great Sit-Com Cars

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 5th April, 2018

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…

40 Years of the Mazda RX-7

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 5th April, 2018

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.

Review of the opening round of the MG Owners Club Race Championship at Oulton Park!

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 29th March, 2018

Keen to change the colour of my race car, I asked for the loudest, most obnoxious pink paint on the planet.