SPECIAL BREW: VW POLO G40 GENESIS
Matt Bell on 25th March 2020
In this mini-series, we explore some of the limited editions you forgot existed. This week it’s the VW Polo G40 Genesis.
Nostalgia
CLASSIC SCENES – SEASIDE QUEUES
Matt Bell on 29th April 2019
Here is a scene that was all-too common in the 1960s - a queue of stationary cars trying to get to the seaside on a sunny June day. Frustrating for the drivers, taxing for many a cooling system, but great for car enthusiasts 50 years hence!
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE A… FORD ESCORT MK1 ESTATE?
Matt Bell on 6th April 2019
These days you wouldn't get away with marketing an estate car with just two passenger doors but back in the ’70s it was common practice: the BMC 1100, Allegro, Alfasud and even the Range Rover were all offered in three-door form.
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE A… FAIRTHORPE ELECTRON
Matt Bell on 1st March 2019
The low-volume sports car is an area where Britain has traditionally excelled, from Morgan to Lotus and TVR with countless others along the way plus modern newcomers like Noble and Radical.
WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW A… VAUXHALL CAVALIER MK3
Matt Bell on 22nd February 2019
The last of the Cavaliers and also – in European markets – the first of the Vectras, the Mk3 Cavalier was once a common sight but like so many fleet cars has suddenly started to disappear. Don't believe us? Just try and find one today outside a car show.
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE A… FIAT PANDA
Matt Bell on 25th January 2019
Like a modern-day 500, Fiat’s original Panda was designed originally as affordable utilitarian transport but the minimalist approach encouraged some innovative thinking which gave the car a cult appeal across Europe.
THE HISTORY OF THE DISC BRAKE
Matt Bell on 18th December 2018
Disc brakes offer better stopping performance than comparable drums, including resistance to ‘fade’ caused by overheating. We trace the development of this important automotive innovation back to the opening years of the Twentieth century.
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE A… HILLMAN AVENGER
Matt Bell on 14th December 2018
What we know as the Hillman Avenger may have begun its life under the Rootes Group in Coventry but it ended production in Argentina of all places having worn no less than seven name badges during its 21-year lifespan.
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE A… BMW E12 M535i
Matt Bell on 7th December 2018
You may not be a fan of BMW's modern range or indeed the drivers of its flashier products, but back in the ’70s and early ’80s the company enjoyed a very different image. Back then, it was a small player on the UK market, much like a German Alfa Romeo or Saab, its customers buying the cars for their engineering and quality.
CANARIAN CLASSICS
Matt Bell on 5th December 2018
The Canary Islands boast a thriving classic car scene, as well as a large and active all-marques club on the isle of Gran Canaria – as Paul Guinness was recently reminded.
UNLIKELY RECORD BREAKERS
Matt Bell on 30th November 2018
We revisit some unlikely records which were broken by car makers in their quest for publicity.
FIND ME A… CLASSIC PICK-UP
Matt Bell on 30th November 2018
Few classics are more useful than a pick-up, the kind of machine that will turn heads and carry loads in equal measure. Paul Guinness looks at a selection of today’s best-buy models
FORGOTTEN HERO: DAIMLER SP250
Matt Bell on 23rd November 2018
The last car to be developed by an independent Daimler company, the adventurous Dart ended its life with the name SP250 under Jaguar ownership.
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE A… ALFA ROMEO ALFASUD?
Matt Bell on 23rd November 2018
You could consider the Alfasud as a kind of Italian Hillman Imp: a great design pairing sporting appeal with small car practicality but flawed by government interference in manufacturing.