If you asked a classic enthusiast to name some popular cars that remained in production for more than two decades, he/she would probably start with the Morris Minor, the Citroën 2CV or the Renault 4.
1987. An idle afternoon spent at the local video library, searching for any diversion from revising A Level Government and Politics. And lurking in the increasing dust covered Betamax section, between Confessions of a Driving Instructor and Carry On England, is a film that you hardly believed existed – The Boys in Blue, starring Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball. Well, it might be worth the £1.50 rental fee...
This weekend is the Billing Off-Road Show 2018 in Northampton and this year’s show is set to be more special than usual! In celebration of Land Rover’s 70th anniversary, this year will see the show organisers and Land Rover Monthly attempt to set a new world record for the Largest parade of Land Rovers! We are supporting them in their quest for glory and our very own Dave Youngs, Lancaster's Car Club Manager, and Andrew Baron, one of Lancaster's Insurance Technicians, will be joining the convoy in a new Discovery. The figure to set is 633 and if you’d like to join in the fun and unite with other enthusiasts, sign up here.
2018 marks 120 years of the original Renault Voiturette, which provides me with the highly enjoyable challenge of selecting my favourite of their cars. The Dauphine is a model I will always associate with Peter Sellers in A Shot in the Dark and as a long-term devotee of 1950s large saloons, the Frégate looks imposingly municipal.
You never forget your first experience of the Renault 4; the flaps on top of the dashboard that could be opened to admit gales of fresh air into the cabin, the “Push-Me, Pull You” gear change and the way in which the switches were apparently thrown at random around the dashboard.
Lancaster Insurance, classic car insurance specialist, has reinforced its commitment to MGs, the MG Owners’ Club (MGOC) and facilitating younger enthusiasts into the industry by developing its specialist scheme for club members.
The Fiat Motor Club (GB) is dedicated to enhancing and promoting the motoring enjoyment of its members. First starting out as the Fiat 500 club in 1948, the club has gone through another name change before deciding in 1963 after Fiat continued to expand its models on Fiat Motor Club (GB) and that it would cover all models old and new under the Fiat marque.
For Round 3 of the BRSCC Mazda Season the team took the 142 mile trip from Haverhill up to Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire in on June 2nd and 3rd.
There are those cars that are apparently made for summer – cars such as the original Fiat 500. Pull the starter lever (handily located on the floor), listen to the notes of an engine that sounds almost as potent as a Ferrari about to take off in the Mille Miglia and – of course – open the roof.
Donington Park Grand Prix Circuit is like riding a fast undulating rollercoaster and I couldn’t wait to get on track! I had an interesting qualifying session, with extremely close lap times, and managed to qualify 2nd for the first race and pole for the second race.
A warning to any to any reader of an age to remember The Goodies, Rentaghost and Cadbury’s Aztec Bars – these film clips may make you feel slightly older than Methuselah.
Mark Ashbridge is the owner of one of the most historically important foreign-built cars in the UK. It is not a vehicle that can claim dramatic 0-60 figure or a thrilling top speed, and nor would it claim to be radical in form or content.
The Morris Marina never set out to be one of the more controversial cars from the British Leyland (BL) empire – indeed its specification and appearance both went out of their way to be as straightforward as possible.
In the very late 1970s, you might sometimes encounter owners of the Vauxhall Chevette L engaged on secret work in their lock-up. After months of carefully applying “Strobe stripes”, a front spoiler and a home-applied change of body colour from ultra-sensible brown to silver, they too could to take the roads in their own interpretation of the incredible 2300HS.
You could almost always detect the arrival of an early Saab 96 long before it came into view. Firstly, there was that engine note – a succession of popping noises – and then there was the unmistakable aroma of the two-stroke engine.
Or, a trip into the real 1960s, as opposed to the myths about “Swinging Britain”, a decade of shops with striped awnings, chaps with Hank Marvin/Peter Sellers glasses and when parking seemed laughably easy by modern standards
There are those cars that possess an innate sense of dash – cars such as the Sunbeam-Talbot 90. You can imagine Leslie Phillips or Terry-Thomas driving one to Goodwood or Henley, the hood down on the drop, the sliding roof open on the saloon, overtaking Ford Consuls and Vauxhall Wyverns with zest and élan.
October 1978 saw the launch of two crucial Vauxhall models, ones that were aimed at the sort of driver who thought nothing of using Luncheon Vouchers five times a week. We have already encountered the Carlton earlier this year and it was complimented by the first really upmarket Gryphon-badged product since the demise of the wonderfully flamboyant Viscount in 1972.
As Father’s Day has just passed, I would like to celebrate the Talbot-Matra Mureena – a fine motor car and the latest in an extensive line of my own father’s ‘projects’.
Drive-In, for those readers who are too young to remember the great days of ITV, was Thames Television’s motoring programme and the editions posted to YouTube provide viewing that is not so much unmissable as totally addictive. Plus, there is a special guest appearance from a Womble - enjoy!
