Month: December 2022

Keith Adams remembers the Ford Probe III concept, unveiled at the 1981 Frankfurt Motor Show. This was no mere show-starring flight of fancy – it was there to preview the […]

Hang on a minute you’re thinking – didn’t Uwe Bahnsen oversee the design of the Montego-rivalling jellymould? Well, yes he did, but he took his inspiration from elsewhere… Back in […]

The title is a line from Father Ted, where the glib and wily priest tries to extricate himself from an embarrassing situation, then realises the impossibility of the task. It […]

Skilled mechanic? Words that conjure up visions of men in brown coats bent over lathes, holding some obscure blued piece of steel to the light, whilst stinking of mineral oil. […]

The recent series of excellent I was there stories from those at the coalface of ARG-life has shown us that there was ample opportunity to create the amazing from the […]

Way back in 2004, I had the good fortune to be working with a chap at a now-defunct electrical retail chain. He moved onto better things after an altercation with […]

From the archive: it’s February 1987, and Rover announces that the Mini has been saved from oblivion. It’s the positive market research following one of the most famous seasonal car […]

It’s that time of the year again. We’re all settling down at home, presents are bought and wrapped, cards are written and sent, seasonal jumpers adorned and, hopefully, the mulled […]

Twenty-five years ago today, the Rover Metro/100 production lines stopped for the very last time. Steven Ward looks back at its final stint from a sales perspective, and tries not […]

We’re standing on Oxford Road in the West Cumbrian town of Workington on 8 February 1996, and the county is only just beginning to recover from the heaviest snowfall it’s […]

Undoubtedly, the most stylish Hillman Avenger derivatives were the Brazilian ones. The Dodge Polara looked almost like a two-door Coupe, such was its roofline.  In Brazil, this nameplate didn’t last […]

The UK is currently in the grip of economic unrest as the unions fight the Conservative Government for a fairer deal on their members’ pay and conditions. Meanwhile, the UK’s […]

SAIC’s work on adapting the MY2007 Rover 75 for its own use (with more than a little help from its friends at Ricardo 2010) was most impressive. It appears that […]

Here is the definitive BMC/BL/MG Rover/JLR/MINI/MG timeline – now fully updated. This page covers all the major events during the period from 1952 through to 2023 and includes many links […]

In Argentina, the Hillman Avenger carved itself a solid image as a reliable car for the middle classes. There were some interesting differences between European and South American models. It […]

The Rootes Arrow was one of the automotive industry’s most badge-engineered cars, but the Paykan version, built by Iran Khodro, was so much more. Engineering and full production of the […]

The Rootes Arrow range was conceived as a smart-suited replacement for the Audax range of Minx/Super Minx models. Launched in 1966, the new range was spearheaded by the Hillman Hunter […]

Jaguar’s managing director and former Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited’s Engineering Director, Philip Koehn, has quite a task ahead of him. The company he’s leading faces quite a deadline –  to […]

Looking to buy a classic car, and want to know exactly when and where it was built? If so, keep reading because just like in humans, where there is no […]

Conceived as an advanced replacement for the Audax range and created with the same set of goals as the Hillman Imp, the rear-engined Rootes Swallow could have been the Group’s […]