Where Were You in 1962?

It was a year of so many key new cars, important motoring events, and Love Me Do, by a certain Liverpudlian beat combo. So –

1. The first No.1 record in the Hit Parade for 1962 was Danny Williams’s version of Moon River. The last was Return to Sender by Elvis Presley.
2. The top-selling British single was Frank Ifield’s I Remember You.
3. The average annual wage was £799.
4. When visiting the grocer’s shop, a loaf of bread would have cost 11 1/2d, and a pint of milk was one shilling.
5. Meanwhile, at the saloon bar of the Red Lion, beer was 2/4d.
6. “BD to Z Victor One”. The BBC transmitted the first episode of Z-Cars on the 2nd January. Lancashire Constabulary loaned the series its Zephyr Mk. II patrol cars, and each episode consisted of five minutes of filmed material and 45 minutes of live studio work, with the shell of a Ford mounted on rollers in front of a back-projection machine.
7. The 4th January saw the first appearance of Harold and Albert Steptoe in the tragi-comic BBC play The Offer.
8. To view such ground-breaking programmes, your friendly local Curry’s outlet would sell you a 19-inch Ekco television for 67 guineas. Alternatively, you could rent a set for ten shillings per week.
9. On the 20th February, John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth.
10. A heater was still not standard equipment on several new cars. Some drivers preferred to invest £13 in an aftermarket unit.
11. Meanwhile, the smart Mini owner could spend £5 on a pair of Miller spot lamps.
12. France wins the Eurovision Song Contest on the 18th March – Ronnie Carroll, representing the UK, came fourth.
13. The 2nd April saw Londoners introduced to the new ‘Panda Crossing’. Pressing a button caused an amber light to pulsate, warning drivers to slow down. Five seconds later, it would turn red, and a ‘Cross’ sign would be displayed to the waiting pedestrians. The system proved so confusing that by 1967 the Panda Crossing was no more.
14. The premiere of Carry On Cruising, the first of the series in colour, took place on the 13th April. The press book said, “The Ship That Never Went To Sea!” – i.e., it contained footage of Southampton Docks and used Pinewood’s ocean liner set.
15. Stirling Moss crashed his Lotus in the final stages of Goodwood’s International 100 Race on St. George’s Day. He later wrote, “I went straight into this earth bank at 100mph without a seat belt on, as they weren’t compulsory in those days, and that’s the last thing I can remember”.
16. The capital’s final trolley bus ran on the 8th May 1962, attracting so many passengers that it did not return to the depot until the early hours of the 9th May.
17. The consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral takes place on the 25th May.
18. On the 25th May, Triumph launched the Vitesse 6. The sales copy promised it was a “temptress”, at just £837 3d for the Saloon and £893 7s 9d for the Convertible.
19. However, tempting the Vitesse may have been, it was essential to remember petrol cost a staggering 4/11d per gallon.
20. The demise of the Ford Popular 100E marked the end of Dagenham’s side-valve engine cars. They also finally dispensed with vacuum wipers when production of the Consul/Zephyr/Zodiac Mk. II ended.
21. June 1962 saw the launch of the Renault R8. The UK price was £764 2s 9d, and Autocar thought it “a considerable advance on the Dauphine”.
22. On the 27th of that month, Alfa Romeo introduced the 105 series Giulia Ti, powered by the world’s first mass-production twin-cam engine.
23. A group named ‘The Rollin’ Stones’ comprising Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Keith Richards, Ian Stewart, Dick Taylor, and Mick Avory make their debut at the Marquee Club on the 12th July.
24. When the British Motor Corporation unveiled the ADO16 on the 15th August 1962, The Daily Telegraph stated, “the motoring world has waited for an extension of the BMC mini-car technique to larger models in the Corporation’s range. The Morris 1100 is the first step in that direction”.
25. The Austin A35 was the last new British car equipped with trafficators, not gaining flashing indicators until this year.
26. For anyone planning an August bank holiday picnic in their Hillman Super Minx, Smith’s Crisps were a ‘must’ at 4d a packet. Or you could try the new Golden Wonder brand.
27. The 19th September saw quite a few Abingdon devotees amazed by the new MGB’s decadent exterior door handles and winding windows.
28. The Consul Cortina debuted on the 20th September. Ford made sure every dealer had a demonstrator by the time of the London Motor Show in October.
29. Dagenham originally intended the Cortina to have an Anglia 105E-style reverse angle screen but dropped the idea on cost grounds.
30. The 4th October saw the first appearance of Simon Templar’s Volvo P1800. The producers of The Saint wanted Roger Moore to drive a Jaguar Mk. X, but Browns Lane refused to loan or even sell them one.
31. No premiered on the 5th October, and a highlight of the first 007 film was the hilarious Sunbeam Alpine Series II chase scene.
32. The Beatles make their television debut on Granada’s People And Places broadcast on the 17th October. The Liverpool group had recently signed a contract with Parlophone Records. Still, the question is - will replacing their drummer Pete Best with Ringo Starr from Rory Storm and The Hurricanes affect their popularity?
33. Sunday the 28th October saw ITV viewers thrill to the ‘Supermarionation’ adventures of Colonel Steve Zodiac, Doctor Venus, Professor Matthew Matic and Robert the Robot in Fireball XL5. Don Spencer sang the memorable theme song, and Gerry Anderson named the show after Castrol XL oil.
34. Starring at Earls Court was the new Spitfire 4, and the Standard-Triumph stand had two models - white with a red interior and red with a black interior.
35. ST allegedly took six million pounds of orders at the Motor Show, and Autocar believed that for £640 17s 9d, the Spitfire represented excellent value for money..
36. The Signpost Coffee House & Grill on the M5 opened its doors in November, and a counterhand could earn 3/- per hour.
37. By December, heavy fog affected twenty-two counties, and drivers had to cope with visibility ranging from 50 yards to zero and black ice...
38. …Closely following the fogs was ‘The Big Freeze’, which began on the 22nd December.
39. For winter motoring, why not invest in a KL ‘Clearview’ electric demister for just £1 19s 6d and a radiator blind for only £3?
40. The end of the year marks the premiere of The Fast Lady, the finest British motoring comedy since Genevieve -