Lancaster News

Latest news

Latest news

Welcome to Lancaster Insurance News

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

40 Years of the Chrysler Sunbeam

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 6th February, 2017

Last year I wrote about how, back in the summer of 1977, Petula Clark advised all ITV viewers to put a Chrysler Sunbeam in their lives. Such is the sheer unabashed cheesiness of this commercial – I would personally rate it as ‘Prime Stilton’ - that the achievement of the actual subject is sometimes overlooked...

February's Car of the Month - Pontiac Firebird

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 2nd February, 2017

The Pontiac Firebird has been the star of numerous Hollywood blockbusters, helping inspire a generation of car enthusiasts and wannabe race car drivers and what better way to celebrate than awarding it ‘car of the month’!

This Week’s Star Prize! – 1980s Quiz Show Cars

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 16th January, 2017

"Ah, the lost world of the 1980’s ITV quiz – glitter, tinsel and the chance to win a Ford Fiesta Popular. On a BBC game show, victors might have left with ‘a selection of board games’ and even on the commercial channel there was heavy restrictions on prize values until 1993. Happily, for the motoring enthusiast, this frequently resulted in a splendid array of Lada 1200s and the like." - Written by Andy Roberts

Top Five Vanishing Family Cars

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 16th January, 2017

"There comes a moment in the life-cycle of many previously popular cars when they almost vanish overnight and looking at the ‘How Many Left’ website is almost as depressing as watching Take the High Road. Then you start to think when you last saw a Rover 600, a Vauxhall Cavalier Mk.2 or a Citroen BX?" - Written by Andy Roberts

'Revving’ up for the New Year after a successful 2016!

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 11th January, 2017

2016 was an incredible year! For many it will be remembered for BREXIT and Donald Trump. For Lancaster, it was an also incredible year. We take a look at some of the highlights...

So Macho? 40 Years Of The Matra Rancho

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 4th January, 2017

"To start 2017 in style, I’d like to mark the 40th anniversary of one of my all-time favourite classic cars, one that mesmerised my younger self... The Matra Rancho" - Written by Andy Roberts

That Was The Year That Was: Classic Memories of 2016

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 4th January, 2017

"What, you may reasonably ask, does Carry On Cabby have to do with any end-of-the-year classic round up? The answer is simply that today I was thinking about the moment that I first became interested in the world of old cars, which I can trace more or less directly to the 7th and probably best, in my opinion, Carry On ever made being screened on BBC2.... Here is That Was The Year That Was: My Classic Memories of 2016" - Written by Andy Roberts

Heroes of Motoring – Raymond Baxter

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 20th December, 2016

"On 19th September 1976, Hero of Motoring Raymond Baxter appeared in The Goodies’ episode It Might As Well Be String, clad only in his underwear and uttering his lines with the straight-faced aplomb which only Ronnie Barker could have equalled." - Written by Andy Roberts

Heroes of motoring – Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 20th December, 2016

"One of the most intriguing aspects of pictures of motoring of the past, aside from the telegraph wires and transport cafes that made the establishment in Hell Drivers look like The Ritz, are road signs. Which is where two of the heroes of motoring – Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert - come in." - Written by Andy Roberts

Driving Down Memory Lane – The Truly Forgotten Cars

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 20th December, 2016

"Over the last week I‘ve been driving down memory lane, looking through reviews and road-tests of cars I’d forgotten had ever existed. Here's a list of the Truly Forgotten Cars." - Written by Andy Roberts

‘Booted Hatchbacks’ - My Top Ten

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 20th December, 2016

"Before writing this piece, I’d forgotten just how many ‘booted hatchbacks’ once existed. Some readers may have fond memories of the Sierra Sapphire and others may recall the Vauxhall Belmont but this is my, totally subjective, top ten." - Written by Andy Roberts

Five More Terrible Motoring Ads

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 20th December, 2016

Just when you thought it was safe to come out from behind the sofa, here’s another five of the most ill-judged motoring commercials of bygone days. Don’t say that we didn’t warn you… - Written by Andy Roberts

Morris Minor Owner Club member is the winner in our 2016 ‘Lifetime ticket’ competition at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show

  • Lancaster Insurance Services |
  • 14th December, 2016

For the past few years, we’ve offered our customers and friends the opportunity to win a pair of ‘Lifetime tickets’ to the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show. This year’s winner was Mike Dean, a Morris Minor Owner Club member, and we’re thrilled the tickets have gone to someone who is as passionate about the show as we are!

At The Sign Of The ‘Bloated Pacman’ – The Happy Eater

  • Andy Roberts |
  • 8th December, 2016

"If in my memory, at any rate, the Little Chefs seems to belong to a 1970s of Hillman Avenger Supers and educational trips to the Marchwood Power Station, then I associated the Happy Eater more with the 1980s." - Written by Andy Roberts