PICS! Wheels Day 2014

[Lucky]

What a top day. I took a frankly ridiculous 972 photos on the day and only just whittled them down to a mere 500 or so For a fiver (to charideee, mate) this has to be the best value show in the country... and that includes some of the free ones! A lot of Yank stuff, as perhaps befits a show organised by a hot rod club, but plenty of variety also. Didn't even come close to getting round all the cool cars before half of them had upped an left. Dunsfold is a much better venue than the Aldershot bomb crater in my humble, not just cos it's much closer, lol

Anyway, here are a few of the high points for anyone who cares. If there's any interest I could maybe do a full thread?

[myatt1972]

I can stand more of this Nik, keep em coming

[KiwiDave]

Very easy on the eye, that collection Nik. I do like that KE30 corolla, not many of those about now.

[spirit r]

MORE !

[codge]

Excellento Nik.

Ford Edsel front end eh......I'm loving the look.......

Now the Mk1 Zephyr 6 complete with kidney cutters and Lumax / Radyots......Beautiful.

[Lucky]

lol, I thought you might like that one, Dave

Right, here am some moar then. There are too many photos to get through to try and contrive a story or anything, so we'll just go with the order they come up on Photobucket, yeah? This may take a while, bear with me. First installment...

Chrysler Three Hundred (letter car), not to be confused with the 300 (non-letter car). 1969. Sort of like a super-sized Charger innit. I guess that makes it a super-charger? Thankyou, thankyou so much.







Slightly bonkers take on the lead-sled chop rod. I believe this to be an A70 Hereford, but certainly it's some kind of 50s Austin weirdness. The truncated metalwork suits it very well, I feel





An Allard J2, the original turn-key gentleman's racer. American muscle meets British design and handling prowess. Winner



No wonder the police in the 70s had a reputation for extreme curtness and disgruntlement. It's because they had to pursue knavish villains and blaggards in their MkII Jags using the worst example of miss-construed Leyland optimism ever unleashed on an undeserving motorist. Yep, the Allegro. 1300 Super, mind. None of your crap...





Amazons go a long way to dispel the fuddy-duddy image associated with your average Volvo driver (or Volvons, as they're correctly called). They look superb whether stock-ish and tidy...



...or slammed and moody on moondiscs





This is not your average Anglia, this. Not just on tyte rimmage and sprayed in glorious colour, but also stuffed full of Cosworth YB engine, I guess this would have to be an Angrier. Arf





Insouciant racy Aston parked miles away on the exit road, not sure if it was anything to do with the show but felt it was worth papping anyway!



More Austin weirdness, the in-no-way overblown old emblem as seen on the ubiquitous Sevens and that Herbert Austin was so proud of he even insisted badge-engineered cars such as the Jaguar (then Swallow) versions retained the badge. Let's see... wings? check? Steering column? check. Steering wheel like angelic halo? check. Wheels pounding up dustcloud? check. Any more motoring motifs we need to fit in? Maybe a lightning bolt as well? Hmmmm, too much?



Strange to think as defining a muscle car as the Hemi 'cuda sprang from such relatively humble origins as the Barracuda, but that's the beauty of the old American car philosophy; a performance package to suit every price point. This '65 model predates even the embossed fish emblem that came a year later, making do with a geometric motif on the surround of the rear windscreen that is still one of the largest pieces of automotive glass ever commissioned







Funny to see amidst the literally zillions (welllllll... OK, not literally. Trillions, maybe) of gurt big American pickups a very Yankee looking truck that actually hails from the Midlands; a Bedford Type J



Always plenty of aircooled goodness anywhere you go, as befits a car that was both ubiquitous and now, curiously, collectible and valuable. I always have time for a nice Beetle.





Not seen this before. Flocked wheels! Not sure how durable a finish this will be, or how easy to keep clean, but from what I remember of the abuse I used to mete out to Action Man their heads proved seriously durable and robust, and they were essentially flocked, so maybe this is the way to go



Money, apparently, can't buy you love... although it can buy you a reasonable facsimile of it including amyl nitrate and ladyboys, anywhere along the Reeperbahn as long as the cash holds out. Another thing it can't buy you is patination of this quality. Only time's celestial paintbrush can achieve such purity. And clear up that awful burning itch you picked up in Hamburg





Not sure how useful this will be for an air-cooled engine's airflow... nor, for that matter, as a spare wheel without a tyre, but it does look quite cool and I guess it's a pleasant variation on the contrived scene roofrack with achingly retro junk bestrew in a deliberately nonchalant style across it. Short version; me likes



Me likes this Beetle/Van/Hotrod/Torture device/Sex dungeon on wheels, too. Nahhh, you can never have too much black nor too many spikes. And barbed wire is actually very underrated for its protective properties as, say, a timing belt cover. Never again would you be so grateful to just get your fingers trapped in a moving pulley as after getting too close to this thing





BelAirs seem to be becoming the Ford Escort of the show scene... i.e. there appears to be one on every street corner... whilst the Escort becomes some sort of blue-collar unobtanium about as accessible to the man in the street as a Blower Bentley or the third moon of Arcturus IV. Which is a shame, because over-exposure inevitably compromises appeal and when it gets to the point you're thinking, "God, not another BelAir, I just CBA" soemthing's gone wrong. Let's try to re-ignite some BelAir love, shall we? For example, this '54 aptly named "The Beast" looks meaner than a failed chainsaw juggler. Not the sort of thing you'd want to take home to meet your mother. Or even to have run over your foot. Not sure what its wheel trims have come from, but I'm sure they're not OE Chevy... maybe a 50s Dodge Coronet or Custom Royal or something?









This '55 looks tough enough from the rear, and clearly a dragster pure and simple. From the front the giant 'charger and wastegate poking through the hood and sharing space with the iconic rocket mascot hint at its capabilities







...and that's part of the problem with the ubiquity of BelAirs (well, for me anyway). I always think "oooh, that's a nice shot there" and then download the pics... and file it away with the other hundred almost-identical photos I've taken of '55 BelAir mascots. Somehow it's a car that just needs to be red, though. Unlike the Da Vinci Code, which doesn't deserve to be read at all, only to be used as nicely-wrapped firelighters. Appalling blight on the face of literature (this joke only really works if you tend to read these threads out loud to yourself, of course, and thus the play on the "red/read" homophone would work well... but anyone in earshot would probably think you were a bit odd)





with that said, this black '55 makes a compelling case for itself. Billet wheels can neither be cheap, easy to clean, nor particularly loved by the MOT man...





By 1960 I always feel the BelAir was looking a bit run down, poor thing. The face had gone all "corporate Chevy" and lost its cheeky wide grin and even the once-proud and pert fins had sort of flopped over as though you'd finally got to meet Mae West only to find age and gravity had wreaked their worst and it was all held up by strapping, smoke and mirrors. But then that black one they did on Fast'n'Loud did a lot to revoke my disillusionment, and even the silly aeroplane flying down the side doesn't upset me any more. As an aside, note the campest ever photobomb by a random passer-by from the bloke in the beige loafers and pink shirt. Oooooh, hullloooooooo, sailor!









See? this is what we like, proper pert and alert upright fins, none of your droopy Dame Ednas



By '65 they were even more "corporate-Chevy"-looking, although now in a good way (and I stress this is only my own personal bigotr...ahhh... opinion. They look to me like they should be black, low, shiny, and preferably driven by Tony Montana waving a blooper-equipped M16 out of the window while shrieking crack whores party in the back seat








The missus has finally gone to bed so I can get in to watch Match of the Day now. please check back regular-like for further updates. The cars, not the football O_o

[Lucky]

So, Plymouths then. The late 50s were a heyday for Plymouth, heralded by designer Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" re-branding. The '57 model range was deemed so modern and advanced it was launched under the slogan "suddenly, it's 1960" which must have confused some of those less mentally agile (or Texans, as they're known) no end. Anyway, the Belvedere had once been the top of the range full-size and was still the top trim level, above the Savoy entry-model (once the Plaza was dropped in '59. Confused yet?). The Fury was the performance option for the Belvedere, made famous by the alleged appearance of a '58 Fury as Christine. I say allegedly because the Fury was only available in Buckskin Beige that year. In fact the film used several tarted-up Savoys and Belvederes for the donkey work and only a pair of Furies for the beauty shots. Anyway, this isn't any kind of Fury, nor is it a '58. It's a '59 Belvedere and proud of it







yep, fins were in, fair to say. The Forward Look meant basically rockets and jets and fins and wings and space-age frippery. Seems kitsch and bonkers now, but that's the curse of hindsight. Don't forget this was twenty years before Gerry Anderson's UFO and that was supposed to be set in 1980! A 1959 Belvedere parking next to you at the 7/11 must have looked liek the Martians had landed. Moving on, and perhaps even more zany, is this 1960 model... which must have confused the Texans even more by actually being launched in 1960... proves that the Austin Allegro can't even truly claim it's second allaged Unique Selling Point (the other being that it's more aerodynamic in reverse than forward). Yep, it's not the only car to rock a square steering wheel either. Sad times. Especially liking this one as it has Betty in the back window, my fantasy love interest. She's mine, I tell thee











In a similar way to the Fury being the top model in a range, the BelAir was of course based upon the (relatively) humble Biscayne. This was Chevy's entry level full-size car, and eschewed much of the trinketry and ornamentation of the BelAir, which in turn was less glitzy than the Impala. Nowadays, of course, even a poverty-spec Biscayne like this 1960 tends to stand out in a car park next to F*rd Focusses and Renault Meganes...





The Vincent Black Shadow was the original superbike and Stevenage's finest product to date. At a time when bikes were still mostly pushbike frames with an engine loosely glued to it, with tolerances measured in half-inches and when a 250cc displacement was considered sporty, the Black Shadow used the engine as a stressed member, displaced nigh on a litre, had adjustable suspension and steering. Designed to give injured airforce servicemen the thrills they needed, the maintenance was engineered-in and things like the clutch were designed to be used with two fingers, unlike the hand-breaking gorilla grips on other bikes. Contrary to what know-nothing fools like Richard Hammond might allege, this one is actually a Rapide, on which the Black Shadow was based. You can tell because the crankcases don't have the black stove enamel that gave the Shadow its name. It was still well over a 100mph bollide, probably capable of 120 in its day. Hunter S Thompson was one of the many famous Vincent afficianados, commenting on it in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas that "if you rode a Black Shadow at top speed for any length of time, you would almost certainly die". You have to love the attention-to detail, from a time when engineers cared enough about their product to machine Vincent HRD logos into the covers for the pushrods





By 1959 the Pontiac Bonneville had become a model range in its own right, having started as a trim package. This was a very expensive and fully-appointed motor, some option levels could even exceed Cadillacs on price. They are also genuinely massive, takes about a week to walk around one. This year debuted Pontiac's much-trumpeted "Wide Track" development, pushing the wheels out in the fenders to improve cornering. Albeit slightly redundant on a car that takes corners like a greased hippopotamus on roller skates, but imagine how bad it'd be without the handling enhancement! Got fins... I also love the little Chief Pontiac logos enamelled on the headlight peaks, and the sparkly bejewelled carpet (I'm guessing the latter wasn't a Pontiac option)













By '67 the Bonne had adopted Pontiac's slightly awkward stacked headlight look and slimmed down a bit, losing the excesses of the '50s finnage and rocket thruster lights. Still got some presence, mind and still a genuinely huge car!





The Bloodhound was on display in its big orange tent, presumably one of the last appearances before it heads to RSA for the record attempt. Oddly, for something that can re-arrange the laws of physics, it's slightly underwhelming in the flesh (albeit bloody massive) due to its need to be utterly streamlined and smoooooth there are kind of no features to draw the eye. And it's far too enormous to photograph sensibly



Nice to see beach bugs still have a place in car culture. Probably the most unsuited vehicle to the British climate ever, you don't even get canvas windows like on a Lotus 7, for example. But they do look proper



It's a fin-off! Gargantuan Bonneville vs pert Buick Special. Another appearance of that car colour that perfectly mimics the paint in my downstairs bog, too



and in the interest of balance, some preposterous styling at the sharp end. Literally, in this case. Some pointy Buick noses



everyone loves a nice grimy pickup, don't they? This show was awash with them, and givent hat the Ford in all its derivations is supposed to be the most sellingest vehicle ever, there sure seem to be a lot of Chevys around. In fact, the stepside seems to have become the BelAir of the truck world (see also Ford Escort under "common as muck shed somehow becomes showcar icon"). Anyway, this one isn't a stepside so that's OK. This is a C10 Apache circa '63



This is neither grimy nor a pickup. Camaros are not uncommon at these things and I made a conscious effort not to take too many pics of them, trying to stick to the more unusual stuff (cf Mustang). However, some just demand photographing, such as this perfick '67



And this Z28 is immaculate, although I was slightly put off by the owner being a total knob at me ("don't take any pics of that, it's a rusty crap-heap" he goes, grinning like a Bedlam regular... which clearly translates as "take lots of pics of my car, it's the most awesome thing ever". Why not just say that? I wondered how he'd have reacted if I'd just gone "you're right, it's ****" and put the camera away and walked off). Annoyingly, it was too good not to include some photos, lol





The forgotten Cadillac; a '72 Caprice Classic. Looks proper in a white so crisp it made everything else look dull and grey





I wonder if Capris will gain the sort of ridiculous prices that Escorts now command, as people are forced to seek cheaper alternatives as the 'scort is priced out of the market. If so, better get moving before they all return to the soil! For me, I'd take a nice 2.8 any day over a 'scort simply because they were more of a part of my yoof. It's funny how we all make different associations with the remnants of our past, innit? My grandad had an Escort (in brown) so in my mind they'll always be an old giffers car. My mates and the cool kids tooled around in Capris...





One thing that will never be cool is a shocking pink Cappucino with a humongous Big Gay Wing and dorifftuu styling (read; "dents"). In fact, if there's a more metrosexual car in the road then it had to have once been owned by Liberace and passed on to Elton John. For that very reason, of course, this is achingly cool without even trying



Like many American model identities, the Catalina started as a trim level and gradually became a model in its own right. Appearing on cars like this '53 Chieftan as an option, it was cleverly called a "hard-top convertible" due to the pillarless window treatment giving a big airy cabin. This was still at a time when iconography was unrestrained, and Pontiac played heavily on their nomenclature derived from Chief Pontiac, leader of the Ottawa Indian uprising against the British. The French sold out the Ottawa, failing to provide the promised support (no cultural cliche involved there, clearly *cough*) and the insurrection was crushed. It's fair to say the descendants of Chief Pontiac probably weren't too chuffed at the miss-appropriation of his image to sell cars, but this was at a low point in the rights of native Americans so their voice wasn't heard. Sad to say, the Pontiac designs certainly have left a heritage of some of the most arresting and impressive mascots in automotive history.









By the time this 1960 model came along all the full-size Pontiacs were Catalinas of some kind, excepting only the Bonneville. In addition, 1959 saw a complete re-branding of the marque, dropping the politically incorrect Native American imagery in favour of a modern new badge, a red inverted arrowhead with a four-pointed star contained within. These cars played heavily on the new platform geometry, earning the Pontiac-encouraged nickname "wide-track Tigers" for their stance and cornering ability. Still some vestige of the 50's finnage remained to lend some visual baroque cues though

[Lucky]

Still wittering on here. Anyone still awake out there? I've only got to "C"

for Cerbera, lol



One of the great things about an anything-goes show like this is the opportunity to see how cars have evolved through the years, or indeed, been completely resurrected by manufacturers playing on glory days of heritage. So, for example, a sad-face '72 Challenger



compares with the re-launched 2008 version



Chargers are another thing I probably have far too many photos of and thus tried to limit it a bit, but sometimes you just can't help yourself



Chevelles, now that's more like it. Funny how in a scene as individualistic as the modified and classic car world, something's desirability seems directly proportional to either unbelievable rarity... or how many other people have one. The Chevelle, like this '66, is an eminently capable musclecar that seems destined to be forgotten amidst seas of Mustangs and Chargers. Maybe if it had starred in more films...





This '68 is Ben's, and regular readers of my inane witterings might be familiar with the beastly black SS. An easy 700+bhp and single-figure fuel "economy" plus earth-shaking exhaust note make it difficult to ignore







Up until the Chevelle, Chevy had a GM-imposed ceiling of 330 cubic inches engines on mid-sized cars. Falling behind against the Pontiac Tempest GTO, Olds Cutlass 442 and suchlike, the barriers were lifted and SS Chevelles hit the heights of the big-block. By the time of this '69 third-gen model, the SS featured a 396 cu in engine kicking out either 350 or 375 bhp. Which, frankly, is a lot in anyone's money







I had quite a lot of love for this big Chevy van. Hearse? Ambulance? not sure exactly what it is, but it gave me Scooby-doo/Grateful Dead style fanatsies of dossing across America in Kerouac fashion. Until I got round the back. Odd muriel is odd. [/baffled]





And so from the ridiculous to the sublime, and the oldest car I saw on the day. Certainly it was the only one I saw with wooden wheels! My knowledge of properly antique cars is hazy at best, but this has to be an early twenties survivor? Mightily impressive. I especially love the spartan instrument panel that seems to have more in common with an antique radio than a car dashboard!









The Mercury Comet had originally been envisaged as a model for the Edsel range, but the demise of that particular marque meant it was re-assigned as a Mercury by the time of it's appearance in 1960. Developed from the Falcon platform, the early production cars like this '61 show clear influences from both stables, many parts such as the distinctive tail-lights coming from the Edsel parts bin and item such as the Falcon grille pressed into service to blot out any association of the much-derided Edsel "horse's collar". Profile of Mercury on the gas cap makes him look more gay icon than messenger of the Gods





The Ford Consul Classic and Capri; a very American British car. Rare and getting rarer! The white one seems to have had some badging replaced by pirate emblems. Arrrr!





The Lincoln Continental is another model that's had such a long history it's interesting to see how it's changed over the years. Or it would, if I'd had the sense to take photos from the same end... In actual fact, the differences are surprisingly small really. Unlike the car itself, which is unfeasibly huge! 1960 model has slightly more curves to it



'79 MkV is almost Teutonic in its squareness



As befits the most sellingest car ever, it was nice to see at least one example of Corolla making it. This is, I think, a '77. Perversely, quite a rare thing nowadays. Owners colouration is more arresting than the car, fair to say!



Up until 1955the Coronet was one of Dodge line-toppers, featuring Hemi engine options and setting speed records at Bonneville. For the 55 re-vamp, it became an entry-level model, oddly. Not that you'd know it now, looking at the styling extravaganza on this '58





By 1970 and the distinctive split-grille styling treatment, the Coronet had been re-assigned again as a mid-size car and once more had some really quite severe performance options on it







And speaking of performance, I think it's fair to say that this little MkI Cortina now has rather more than when it left Dagenham. The fact it can barely contain its own engine is a bit of a giveaway. Plumbing for the nitrous/fuel system is a work of art







Superb though the MkI is, for me the Cortina will always be a MkIII as that's the one I remember my uncle having when I was a kid, and therefore the coolest by far. Proof, were it needed;





Matt black MkIII (and a half) is also pretty fine, though loses a couple of points for the headlights



(I realise that may offend some people, as with everything in these threads, it's banter, personal opinion and scurrilous miss-representation for the sake of a good read. Don't write in to complain, lol)

I believe I'm right in saying (but then I always believe I'm right, it's part of my delusional fantasy structure) that the Corvette is now the longest-running sportscar model the world has ever seen. Funny, for something that was met with such hostility and derision originally with it's tupperware bodywork and inappropriate six-pot engines. The thing we Brits often misunderstand is that the cars we lust over and that command high prices now like Mustangs and such were never intended to be an expensive classic. They were cheap speed, blue-collar affordability and intended as a disposable commodity. The 'vette has always been different. It's always been aligned as a premium product with according price, and it's sometimes hard to remember that with the glut of cheap clunkers that were around in the 80s. looking at these immaculate 1st-gen (second rev? proper original models had single headlights) models might work to reignite some of the respect. A '61 and '62 respectively (I think)





By the time of this '68 C3 version the compact little roadster shape had become a mix of hairy-chested swoops and curves. LED grille surround... hmmm. Can't decide if massive cool points or styling vacuum cringe. Gonna plump for the former. Shiny things goooooooood!



The C3 generation not only offered some humongous engine capacities but also introduced "innovations" like injection. This '82 is towards the end of this generation, before the rather unloved C4 came in 84





In a complete juxtaposition, for the C5 Corvette Chevy were forced to follow the trends set by Japanese manufacturers after the performance, styling, and quality of the C4 was compared unfavourably with Japanese pocket supercars of the time. This company feel they can improve things further with extravagant door openings. You'd have though Lambo-style doors were played out, but apparently not



From one performance icon to another. The humble Sierra could once be seen rusting away on every street corner, or clanking along streets in a cloud of oil smoke, earth-fault brake lights randomly flashing on and off in time with the indicators. Fortunately, we still have plenty of Cosworths around at all levels from track slag to concourse queen to remind us just what a true sledgehammer of the racetracks it once was. The panda colourscheme was certainly different

[Lucky]

So, where were we? Oh, yeah...

Mercury Cougars are something that's taken up a fair amount of my time... well, Rich/Phil's is anyway... so it's nice to see a few others about for a change. First up was this '69 Dan Gurney replica, which looked and sounded superb



but perhaps even nicer was the '70 Eliminator version we coincidentally parked next to on arrival. A real item of beauty, the owner restored it when he got it but it's got enough scruffy edges and wear that it doesn't look like it ought to be parked and not used. Spot on. Being the Eliminator it's got the big Boss motor, too. The '70 front isn't my favourite with the Roman nose centre piece, but y'know, I'm not complaining












Vauxhal's ownership by GM goes back into the mists of time,1925 in fact, so perhaps it's no surprise they've often popped up randomly with very Americanesque cars. Bear witness, a '56 (I think) Cresta





"My" Olds 442 was there (by which I mean I covet it on an almost sexual level). I seem to see it at every show nowadays but for some unknown reason I managed to completely fail to get a picture of it so you'll have to make do with this '70 Cutlass instead



Even though the Daimler Dart (or SP250 as it really ought to be known after Dodge claimed infringement of the Dart name) is by all accounts a terrible car and undeniably extremely awkward aesthetically, I just can't resist taking photos of them. I guess it's just the depressed bottom-feeder fish face (I mean, it even has barbels!) that makes me feel sorry for them



This is as close as I got to the DMC1, another car that I tend to end up taking near-identical photos of every time I see one so in a way this poor effort makes a nice change. And it is at least showing off its party piece



A rather rare beast next, certainly this side of the pond. A marque you probably either know about and thus love with something close to reverence, or have never heard of and are nonplussed by all the fuss. A Diamond T, the absolute apex of pick-up royalty







Random pic of an engine cover, purely cos I liked the skull paint thing going on. I guess this might be hydro-dipped? If not, someone spent a lifetime with an airbrush in this engine bay!



perhaps and even more random pic of a Citroen squatting in the grass like a broad-bottomed filly relieving herself on the post-pub stagger home. I've no idea why, but that's the only image this pic conjures up, which probably says more about me than the car



Edsel Ford then. And Ford Edsels. Both heroic failures really, the man truncated by complications following stomach cancer, the cars killed by unloved styling and price points. Often miss-described as a marque intended as a tribute to Henry Ford's son Edsel (who succeed and preceded the old man as President of Ford Motor Company, Henry had to step back in after his son's death), this is not strictly the case. By the time the Edsel range was launched Henry Ford himself was dead and his grandson and Edsel's son Henry Ford II was opposed to using his father's name as a car range. By now, Ford was a publicly traded corporation and the board vetoed Henry II's opposition.

The new Edsel range confused everyone. Everything was against it, despite Ford's much-vaunted market research claiming they'd built the car everyone wanted to own. There was no brand loyalty, the cars were controversially styled with their horse' collar grilles (crueller jokes of the time nicknamed it the "vulva" and alleged "if it had hair around it, it'd be called an Ethel"), and the cars were unreliable. The lack of dedicated plants such as Mercury and Ford products were made in meant the Edsel range had to be assembled around the undiminished quotas of the other brands. Workers often could not complete assembly in time, and the unfinished parts were placed in the trunk of the cars with instructions for assembly addressed to the dealership mechanics. They often did not get finished at all, or to a low standard, leading to quality issues. The revolutionary push-button gearchange baffled drivers and often malfunctioned due to control wires running alongside the exhaust and overheating. They had many unique features such as the scrolling dome speedometer, which were difficult and expensive to source spares for. They were based on either Ford or Mercury platforms, meaning assembly and parts sourcing was a nightmare throughout production. The rear indicators were confusing, apparently pointing the wrong way as the sheetmetal was not allowed to be altered from donor vehicles to keep costs down so the designers had to fit them into what was already there yet make them appear unique. Politics within the boardroom meant the range had as many enemies as friends and arguably killed the marque more than anything else. Finally, the Edsel range was priced slap-bang between Ford and Mercury, so no-one was quite sure if it was supposed to be upmarket from a Ford or slightly less upmarket than a Mercury, so they stayed away in their droves.

Nowadays, of course, the three-year mayfly life of the Edsel range and the hugeness of its white elephant failure plus the now-appealing period styling means they're much sought after, and rightly so. After all, who can resist the charms of a pale pink Ethel... errrr, Edsel. I love them, and it was great seeing four on the day including two '59 Villager station wagons as well as the '58 Ford-based Ranger and a scruffy patinated one I failed to get any good pics of! In a way they bear their tragic status proudly, with the almost arrogant E-in-a-planet emblem still aloof despite years of tarnish. Of course, the Edsel range did live on in the early Comets, as previously mentioned. In fact, so keen were Ford to get rid of the stocks of Edsel parts that early Comet keys were in fact Edsel ones with the centre bar of the "E" removed to make them look like a "C"























I've had a thing for Elans since first seeing Diana Rigg tootling around in one in the Avengers. The +2 perhaps slightly less so, to be fair. The proportions just don't seem as perfect as the two-seat roadster... or maybe it's just cos Diana never had one...



El Camino is Spanish for "the Road". Not sure why, it just is. Arguably a more accurate name when Chevrolet decided to cut the back off their full-size car range and call it a pick-up would have been "El camión" or "the Truck". Perhaps slightly less romantic-sounding though, admittedly! Much as I love the later models that were like a Chevelle with a bed, the earliest version such as these '59 models are perhaps even more bonkers for retaining full-on Impala styling, even down to the zany fins and rear lights. Spiky headlights are spiky











Eleanor? Nope, just a replica but still a damned fine-looking car. Numberplate strategy desperately needs changing!



1959 was a big year for Buick, being the year of a total range revitalisation. The new Electras were at the top of the tree, and huge not just in terms of the re-vamp. Indeed, the Electra 225 model name referred to their 225-inch length! The super-size dimensions meant the engine could be correspondingly vast, a 401 as standard with a four-barrel carburettor. Much fuss was also made of the styling, including the much-trumpeting "Delta Fins" by which presumably they meant "triangular". Still, she got some presence, don't she?












It might be perceived from earlier comments that I'm anti-Escort and this certainly isn't the case. When they're as tidy and immaculate as this RS2k I can definitely get the love, even if there's never been any personal attachment for me to the brand. I genuinely fail to get what makes them upwards of 50 grand cars, though, especially when equivalent and arguably equally capable products from period rivals are nowhere near. Is it purely scene tax? Discuss, lol. Don't shout at me though. Anyway, this is lovely;





Another opinion that's caused no end of arguments is my insistence that E-type coupes are preferable to the droptops. It's not me just being contrary for the sake of it. I just feel the roofline detracts from the styling fails of the car such as the appalling offset fail and just adds to the lovely swoop of the metalwork lines. It's not as if I expect anyone to agree with me, like

[re japi]

Awesome cars, very nice pics!!!

Btw, I love old Mercury Cougars too