LANCASTER CLASSIC CAR NEWS
OVERLOOKED GEMS – THE SINGER SM1500 AND HUNTER
Amidst the many and varied cars displayed at the 1948 London Motor Show was a formal-looking saloon that offered "dignity, style and perfect balance". The SM1500 was Singer's first post-war design, and today it merits far greater recognition.
RARER THAN RARE – THE TALBOT TAGORA SX
In 1981, when this writer was eleven, and Adam and the Ants were the pop group du jour, certain mass-produced executive cars were about as rare as a watchable episode of Runaround. I seldom encountered a Vauxhall Viceroy, a Renault 30TX, a Citroën CX Prestige, a Volvo 264 or a Rover SD1 V8S on Lower Swanwick’s (less than) mean streets.
STARS AND THEIR CARS - DOCTOR WHO AT SIXTY
At 5:15 p.m. on Saturday 23rd November 1963, after Grandstand and before The Telegoons and Dixon of Dock Green, BBC Television premiered the first episode of a series they billed as “A new adventure in time and space”. And the first car to be seen in Doctor Who was a Wolseley 6/80 – albeit only the front half, which the production crew mounted on castors.
BIGGEST AND BEST! EXPERTS AND ENTHUSIASTS CELEBRATE AT NEC CLASSIC SEASON FINALE
The Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show lived up to its ‘biggest and best’ tagline this weekend as 71,290 enthusiasts joined at Birmingham’s NEC to celebrate another great year for the classic car community.
MEMORIES OF THE 1983 LONDON MOTORFAIR
What would have caught your eye at the 1983 London Motorfair, which ran from the 20th to the 30th October? The second-generation VW Golf? The Renault 11? The Fiat Regata? Or the Ford Fiesta Mk. II? All of which impressed the then 13-year-old writer, although I cannot recall seeing the AC Cobra Mk. IV by Autocraft.
Meet the Owner – 1972 Toyota Crown Custom Estate
There are those rare but wonderful times when an advertisement for a classic car stops you in your tracks. A 1972 Toyota Crown Custom Estate in the finest orange available to humanity is just such a vehicle. 51 years ago, this would have been the vehicle for the local elite – the sort of motorist who also owned two colour television sets.
MEET THE OWNER – JOHN KINGSFORD AND HIS VAUXHALL CARLTON MK.I
There is an elite group of cars that fall into the category of “whatever happened to” - cars such as John Kingsford’s magnificently Orange Tan Vauxhall Carlton. 45 years ago, this was the perfect transport for the someone who was really “going places” – and who chose a paint finish that would undoubtedly stand out in the office car park.
A VISIT TO THE 1973 LONDON MOTOR SHOW
At last, the doors to Earls Court are opened - The Lamborghini Countach is the most expensive car of the 1973 London Motor Show at £16,314, and the Fiat 126 is the cheapest at £699. Your initial ports of call are the British Leyland stands, and firstly, there is the Austin Allegro, which made its bow on the 17th May.
A VISIT TO THE 1963 LONDON MOTOR SHOW
The first car you hope to see at the London Motor Show is the Lotus Cortina, which debuted earlier that year. £1,100 2s 11d may be rather a lot of money, but The Motor thought it "a good compromise for a keen driver who has to remember that the family must sit somewhere".