The British Motor Museum hold several free weekends, in which you can use the ample parking areas to hold club events, which along with the unique content housed within the two buildings, offers a petrolhead one of the best car-themed days in the UK. Last Sunday saw a celebration of 50 years of the much-maligned […]
1975 Austin Allegro 1300 Super Deluxe Read More »
This rather sorry-looking Opaline Green example was registered in January 1984, around 3 months after the launch of the first 1.6 Automatic. As a passenger, you might have appreciated the ride quality and airy cabin, while the driver might rave about the steering, road holding and mid-range power attributes. Outwardly similar to the manual 1.6
1984 Austin Maestro 1.6 Automatic Read More »
One of the many marketable aspects of a sale of a new car is the approach to safety considerations. By the 1960s, passenger safety had become a top priority, with advancements in impact ‘cages,’ as well as mechanical and interior attention, but it was the investigation into pedestrian safety that themes today’s post. What appears
British Leyland Safety Research Vehicles Read More »
A selection of early ‘90s estate cars, which were noted for their qualities beyond load-lugging. The era represented the extra development that had gone into the design, rather than an afterthought to the saloon versions. The Alfa Romeo 33 was aimed at the leisure market, rather than hauling grandfather clocks. It had a tuneful engine
Early ’90s mid-sized estate cars Read More »
This sweet little thing has been subject to a ground-up restoration. Originally bought off eBay as a project that never progressed, it last saw the road in 1985 and was as bad as you’d expect a commercial Mini would be, however it was complete and had its documents. While as much as possible metal was
1974 Austin Mini Pick-up Read More »
The ’70s as well often documented, was a troubling time for the UK homegrown car companies, with strive and strikes dominating the headlines, when it should have been the cars. This is a brief overview of the cars that became the brands best sellers. A scan outside the top 10 includes the Jaguar XJ6 which
Best selling BL cars of the ’70s Read More »
In terms of new car sales sectors, the budget estate car has become a rarity today. This may be partly due to the styling of the modern hatchback being considered good enough to cope with most scenarios where a small load-lugger is required, with the boxy utilitarian nature of a no thrills estate car being
Early ’80s budget estate cars Read More »
Here’s a question to ponder over. How should people remember British Leyland Princess? Subjectively, if we forget about the fact it suffered mostly due to the parent companies failings and focus at the initial impact it had in 1975. At the time the industry was going through economic and political turmoil, so a new British
Originally known for producing Lambretta scooters, the Milan based company collaborated with BMC to make their cars for the Italian market. The first of which was the Frogeye Sprite, as the small charismatic little roadster was perfectly suited to the Italian buyer. However, wanting to add a little individuality to their cars, Innocenti employed Ghia
1962 Innocenti Spider Read More »
An evolution of the Mini, utilising the East-West transverse engine with Hydrolastic suspension. From the moment the first one left the factory in 1963, it hit the top of the sales charts and maintained a top place or at the very least top three places throughout its ten-year production. Car buyers were presumably less discerning
ADO 16 BMC 1100/1300 Read More »
