The Rivals

The heart of the Simca 1000 lay in Italy, but it was the French that built it – and proved that a small, rear-engned didn’t necessarily have to have a Renault badge on its nose to sell in its millions. […]

The full story of how the front-wheel drive Vauxhall Cavalier overturned the Ford Sierra and Austin Montego in the UK fleet market during the 1980s. […]

The 1977 Matra-Simca Rancho is one of those wonderful cars that made more of an impact than anyone realised at the time of its launch. Today, no-one would bat an eyelid if a manufacturer launched a chunky-looking van-based lifestyle vehicle with looks that hinted at off-road ability– but back in the late 1970s, this was radical stuff. Here’s its story. […]

The Simca 1100 might be all-but forgotten today, but this revolutionary hatch caused quite the storm when it was launched in 1967. With front-wheel drive, torsion bar suspension and a wide-opening tailgate, it had everything a modern family man needed in their car. […]

Mike Humble Here’s yet another one of those car birthdays that makes you feel old. Ford’s medicine to a customer base that still mourned the passing of Cortina came along thirty years ago. The old […]

The story of Alfa Romeo’s groundbreaking small family car of the 1970s. It was a handling and packaging tour de force, and one of the best cars of its decade. How differently would history have judged it, had its rustproofing been better? […]

Andrew Elphick recounts a brilliant trip in a Citroen C5 from Geneva to Monaco, via the Alps, Italy… and a little bit more. […]

A very British supercar When the Esprit burst onto the scene in October 1975, it had a similar effect on fans of the marque as that fateful storm had on […]

Keith Adams takes a sideways look at one of those bangers, which once littered the streets of the UK. This one was loved and admired as a repmobile for a […]

Keith Adams There are plenty of cars that have achieved notoriety during their lifetimes – one only has to look at the Boulevard of Broken Dreams that is the British […]

Keith Adams Well, it looks like 2013 is going to be another one of those years guaranteed to make me feel old. I’ve already drawn attention to the fact that […]

Mike Humble Once upon a time, life was so much simpler wasn’t it? You got your electric from the electric board, your gas from the gas board and yes… you […]

Richard Kilpatrick on the innovative small car since the 1959 Mini. Sadly, Germany’s reinvention didn’t go on to inspire as many copies as Issigonis’ baby. A car with a reputation […]

We love value for money purchases at AROnline, and no new car sums-up this philosophy so well as Dacia. John O’Sullivan tries one for size in Ireland, and comes away […]

Keith Adams You’ll have to forgive me for this indulgence, especially as it’s concerning a – gasp – rival car built overseas, but in the case of the C6, I’m […]

Mark Mastrototaro casts a fond eye over one of the UK’s favourite imports during the 1970s, the Datsun 120Y. Why was it so popular? Striking British factories, waiting lists for […]

After spending time driving around the UK at Christmas, Mike Humble wonders if the Golf truly does lead where others merely follow. And comes to an unsurprising conclusion. Simply the […]

Mike Humble takes another sideways look at cars which once littered the streets up and down the land. This one, on paper, had little going for it – it was […]

Mike Humble takes a sideways look at one of the sheds that littered the highways and by-ways of the UK. The Ford Granada Mk2 might have smacked of Teutonic coolness, […]

Mike Humble remembers yet another car that, not only once blessed the highways and by-ways of the UK, but seemingly travelled – the indestructible Peugeot 505. It was car that […]

We aim for the deep south of France on a single tank of fuel… our mission, to find old cars and buy great wine. Our car of choice for the […]