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Keep up to date with the latest news and events from the world of classic cars.
Top Ten Screen Motoring Clichés
- Andrew Roberts |
- 21st December, 2020
Or – what I have learned over several decades of viewing: 1) “Period Dramas” in which virtually every car is a new or recent model for that year. The road footage of almost any 1950s or 1960s newsreel will contain a multitude of elderly vehicles. And just take a look at The Sweeney, with its armies of corroding Austin A60 Cambridges and Singer Vogues on the streets of Hammersmith and Battersea
THE SENATOR – VAUXHALL’S ANSWER TO BMW AND MERCEDES-BENZ
- Andrew Roberts |
- 18th December, 2020
There is a select group of cars that are so quietly efficient and dependable that they were often taken for granted during their lifetime. The Vauxhall Senator is one such vehicle – purposeful, luxurious and rather handsome. Plus, in 24v form, one of the great Q-Cars of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
THE ARMSTRONG SIDDELEY STAR SAPPHIRE MK.II – A CELEBRATION
- Andrew Roberts |
- 17th December, 2020
At first, it looks like any other example of the exquisite Armstrong Siddeley Star Sapphire – until you notice those quad headlamps. Then you realise that it is fitted with a larger rear screen and more prominent rear wings while the cabin features front head restraints that double as picnic tables for the occupants of the back seat. This is the one and only example of the Star Sapphire Mk. 2.
DO YOU REMEMBER – THE ORIGINAL RELIANT REGAL?
- Andrew Roberts |
- 16th December, 2020
The Reliant 3/25 family is so well-known in the UK that the impact of the original Regal three-wheeler is frequently overlooked. Today they are chiefly spotted at car shows or in the background of 1950s and 1960s British film, but this was the vehicle that helped to transform the marque’s image.
MEET THE OWNER – MATT HOUGHTON AND HIS FORD GRANADA MK. I ESTATE
- Andrew Roberts |
- 15th December, 2020
The Ford Granada Mk. I Estate has to be one of the most attractive station wagons of the 1970s – and the rarest. Some of us of a certain age will remember the green metallic example driven by “Jeffrey Fourmile” in George and Mildred and today Matt’s 1975 2.5 “Series 2” is almost guaranteed to cause a sensation. After all, there can be very few examples of a ‘completely unrestored original 45,000-mile car never been welded or messed about with’ still on the road.
What to do if you’ve lost your MOT certificate
- 15th December, 2020
An MOT has been an important part of owning a vehicle for many years. It’s a test that is carried out on cars, vans, campervans, motorbikes and lorries annually. If you’re buying a new vehicle, it will require its first test after three years – and yearly after that.
DO YOU REMEMBER - THE SUNBEAM HARRINGTON ALPINE?
- Andrew Roberts |
- 14th December, 2020
In the years immediately before the launch of the MGB GT in 1965, a sports car enthusiast who craved greater weather protection for winter had a limited choice. None of the “Big Five” manufacturers offered a sleek 2+2 tourer with the partial exception of the Consul Capri GT. However, the sort of motorist who favoured flat hats and club blazers would probably have regarded the Ford as transport for flashy types who used too much aftershave.
How to care for your classic convertible’s hood
- 11th December, 2020
While you might have classic car insurance in place to protect you against any mishaps, you don’t really want to be claiming on your policy for something that was avoidable. That’s why we’re bringing you some tips on how to care for your classic convertible’s hood.
SPOT-ON MODELS – A CELEBRATION
- Andrew Roberts |
- 11th December, 2020
During the 1960s Tri-ang’s “Spot-On” models - so-called because its products were precisely to 1/42 scale – often seemed a cut above those of Corgi or Dinky. Sales commenced in April 1959 and from the outset their die-cast toys featured interior detailing, predating both of its major rivals. They also adopted a ‘constant scale’ policy, at a time when the products of other manufacturers would vary according to need.
THE FIAT X1/9 - A CELEBRATION
- Andrew Roberts |
- 10th December, 2020
When Tony Bastable took the Fiat X1/9 through its paces for Thames Television’s Drive In - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvLyqB8MPrQ - he reported ‘it’s got style, its lively and it handles beautifully’. At that time British motorists had been awaiting imports of the X1/9 for several years. By 1974 Radbourne Racing Ltd. offered a RHD conversion, but it would not be until January 1977 when Fiat would officially launch a UK-market version.
DO YOU REMEMBER – THE SUNBEAM STILETTO?
- Andrew Roberts |
- 10th December, 2020
The year is 1967, and your dilemma is a) craving a new Porsche 911 while b) having a most unsympathetic bank manager. Fortunately, the Rootes Group had just launched a new car ‘for men whose wives think they’ve given up sports cars’. The advertisement further invited the reader to ‘show her how luxuriously saloon it is – four deep seats, the front ones reclining, plenty of room, and swish twin headlamps’.
CORGI TOYS - A TRIBUTE
- Andrew Roberts |
- 10th December, 2020
In July 1965, the nation’s toy shops stocked a new type of die-cast model car – ‘Corgi Toys - ‘The One’s With Windows’. At a time when rival products lacked such a feature, this was important news indeed for the discerning consumer. Corgi cars also came in individual illustrated boxes while Dinky Toys supplied their products in trade-packs to retailers.
DO YOU REMEMBER – THE VAUXHALL CAVALIER SPORTS HATCH?
- Andrew Roberts |
- 9th December, 2020
When Autocar tested the 2.0 GLS Sports Hatch in February 1980, they accurately described it as ‘just plain nice’. It was a truly desirable machine – less overtly aggressive in appearance than the Ford Capri Mk. III - and a Jade Green Metallic Sports Hatch was as much of its era as bomber jackets and Harp lager in thin glasses. And although the Cavalier Mk. I was Luton’s interpretation of the Opel Manta B; the Sports Hatch was a British creation.
THE AUSTIN LANCER AND THE MORRIS MAJOR – A CELEBRATION
- Andrew Roberts |
- 9th December, 2020
While watching certain Australian television shows during the 1970s and 1980s, I sometimes noticed a very peculiar looking car in some background shots. Whether the programme was Skippy – which I will admit to enjoying, Prisoner: Cell Block H (which I won’t) or the early BBC screening of Neighbours (ditto), there might be a vehicle resembling a love-child of a Wolseley 1500 and a Ford Anglia 105E.
