Articles

Our video this week takes us all the way back to the Jaguars of 1961. Back when the E-Type was just rolling off the line and the Jaguar Mark II was still a new car. “One Leap Ahead” is a tour of the Coventry factory. It is amazing to see so many of these cars in one place, much less in production and in perfect condition. For big cats that are so seldom seen in the wild today, they seem to be plentiful in their natural habit in this video. Certainly does make one wish for a TARDIS. If the behind the scenes story of manufacturing like this is your thing, you might also want to check out the book “Jaguar in Coventry: Building the Legend” by Nigel Thornley. This illustrated history offers a fascinating insight into the company and […]

The Lotus brand has long been synonymous with small, quick, and agile sports cars. Our Video of the Week this week features a history of the car through the 1980s via a show and rally of dedicated owners. The company was formed as Lotus Engineering Ltd. by engineers Colin Chapman and Colin Dare, both graduates of University College, London, in 1952. The four letters in the middle of the logo stand for the initials of company founder, Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.

This early Jaguar E-Type Series 1, on display at the recent Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance, was restored in 2012 after sitting dormant for nearly 20 years. It belongs to George Hervert of Pompano Beach, Florida. Since its restoration, it has received excellence in class and received various other awards at the Boca Raton Winter Park Concours. It was also featured by Jaguar of North America in the debut of their new F-Type. The Series 1 was introduced, initially for export only, in March 1961. The domestic market launch came four months later in July 1961. The cars at this time used the triple SU carburetted 3.8 litre six-cylinder Jaguar XK6 engine from the XK150S. Earlier built cars utilised external bonnet latches which required a tool to open and had a flat floor design. These cars are rare and more valuable. After that, […]

The Mini. The giant killer. The original automotive bottle rocket. Our video this week tells the story, especially of the Cooper S. “The Mini Story: The Original, the Cooper, the Legacy” is a 20 minute look into the history of this fantastic little car. This original Mini, of course, was designed for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Motor_CorporationBMC by Sir Alec Issigonis. It was manufactured at the Longbridge and Cowley plants in England, the Victoria Park / Zetland British Motor Corporation (Australia) factory in Sydney, Australia, and later also in Spain (Authi), Belgium, Chile, Italy (Innocenti), Malta, Portugal, South Africa, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia. The Mini Mark I had three major UK updates – the Mark II, the Clubman and the Mark III. Within these was a series of variations, including an estate car, a pick-up truck, a van and the Mini Moke – a […]

The MG N-type Magnette was produced by the MG Car company from October 1934 to 1936. The car was developed from the K-Type and L-Type but had a new chassis that broke away in design from the simple ladder type used on the earlier cars of the 1930s being wider at the rear than the front and with the body fitted to outriggers off the main frame. This beautiful example of the six-cylinder Magnette was on display at the Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance on May 2nd in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The beautiful example is owned by Roy Crowninshield of Asheville, North Carolina. Its 6-cylinder engine displaces 1271 cc and has overhead cam, Marshall supercharger, side exhaust, and pre-selector transmission. Only about 700 N Type MGs were built between 1934 and 1936. The became well known in sports car circles for their lively performance. […]

Often maligned, but seriously undervalued these days, the subject of our Video of the Week this week is the Triumph TR7. What we have here is a look back at the TR7 via an early episode of Top Gear. So while this is a contemporary view of the wedge, it is not a strictly historical one either. The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured from September 1974 to October 1981 by the Triumph Motor Company (which was part of British Leyland) in the United Kingdom. It was initially produced at the Speke, Liverpool factory, but production moved to Canley, Coventry in 1978 and then finally to the Rover Solihull plant in 1980. The car was launched in the United States in January 1975, with its UK home market debut in May 1976. The UK launch was delayed at least […]

Over the next few days, I will be posting some pictures and impressions from the Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance that took place this past weekend in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Most of these pictures, such as the ones of the beautiful MGA that you see below, were taken by Leigh Gill of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This 1960 MGA Twin Cam Coupe is one of only 48 built in 1958 but not titled until 1960. It is owned by Bob and Lynn Wilson of Lisle, Illinois. Uncovered in garage in Wisconsin, where it had been carefully stored for 25 years, this beautiful car required only time, patience, love and a bit of touch-up paint to return it to its original charm.   Due to its highly unmolested nature, this car serves as a great example for those seeking orginality. Stay tuned for more […]

It is Spring, a time of rebirth and renewal, and time to revive a venerable classic, the MGB. The Video Of The Week for this first Wednesday in May is from the series “Classic Car Rescue”. Classic Car Rescue, a series produced by Blink Films, has entrepreneur and car specialist Mario Pacione teaming up with automotive manager and technical engineer Bernie Fineman to restore six iconic cars, including a Jaguar, Porsche, Mini Cooper and Mustang. In each episode, Pacione and Fineman search scrapyards, wastelands and backyards for broken-down rust-buckets with potential. The pair go to work to bring each car back to its former classic car glory. With a deadline and a tight budget, they work tirelessly in order to impress an expert valuer for a glittering price tag at the official presentation. In this episode, the 3rd in the […]

An old friend always used to say that “Jeeps are famous, but Land Rovers are legendary.” I know some Jeep fanatics who might disagree with that, but many of us have been fond of the Land Rover, and its entire family tree, for many years. Our video this week looks back over Land Rover’s history through the eyes of some of the men who were there. This is the story of Land Rover – from its inception as a way to save the Rover company to its becoming the SUV of choice for the landed gentry. The design for the original Land Rover vehicle was started in 1947 by Maurice Wilks, chief designer at the Rover Company, on his farm in Newborough, Anglesey. It is said that he was inspired by an American World War II Jeep that he used […]

There is no way to talk about British cars without talking about the Mini, and who would want to? For our Video of the Week this time we turn to a History of the Mini from the “Great Cars” series. The short film covers the history of Sir Alec Issigonis’s design from beginning to end and even goes so far as to venture into new MINI territory. This is a wonderful video in that it not only captures the mood of the 1950s in which the Mini was developed, but also the 1960s when the diminutive car came into its own. The video continues to follow the development, or lack thereof, all the way through the 70s and 80s up to the very end. You can see how the Mini affected everything from racing to culture to fashion and was in […]

This week let’s look at an all-time favorite, one of the big Healeys, the Austin-Healey 3000. This video is from the good folks are Hagerty Insurance and Wayne Carini of “Chasing Classic Cars“.  In the video buyer’s guide, Carini tells you what to look for when buying an Austin-Healey 3000 MkIII and tells you how to spot potential issues — such as rust — that can plague these cars. A bit about Wayne Carini – With a lifetime of experience in automobile restoration under his belt, master car restorer Wayne Carini has a resume that includes body and paint work on rare car collections owned by the likes of David Letterman, tennis great Ivan Lendl and the DuPont family. He’s been featured in the New York Times as well as numerous automobile magazines, and starred in two one-hour television specials. The Austin-Healey […]

Time for a little vintage racing. Yes, our video this weeks comes from the VARAC. The VARAC, the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada, is the main Vintage Racing Club in Eastern Canada. All VARAC members share a desire to preserve, restore and race historically significant cars in a form as close to the original specification as possible As for the video itself, it is a profile of MG. Who doesn’t love the MGs? (Don’t answer that. We don’t want to hear it.) Featured in this fantastic video by KarmaComa Studio are three uniquely different versions of the MG. Owned by VARAC members David & Evan Holmes, Dave Good and Gary Allen, these cars have been restored and carefully prepared to race the toughest circuits in North America. More info about racing with VARAC is available at www.varac.ca and about […]

Our video this week takes a different turn, literally. And we are making that turn easily without a dragging or skipping wheel. This is achieved through the use of a differential. How does that work you ask? Well, that is the subject of our Video of the Week. “Around the Corner: How Differential Steering Works” is a short film from 1937 that explains the basics of how the differential in your rear, or perhaps even front, axle functions. By understanding the basic components that go into our cars we can become not only better drivers, but we can become better custodians of our treasures. If we know the principles of what is going on with the cars, we can feel problems before the get out of control and also understand what is necessary for repairs, even if we don’t do […]

The Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance, held March 12-15, once again presented an amazing collection of rare, exotic and highly-collectible cars.  There were a smattering of British marques represented at the Concours, with best in class winners of two pre-war Rolls-Royce, an Aston Martin DB4 and gorgeous 1947 Bentley coupe.   The real British-action, however, was experienced in the high-end auctions of Gooding’s and Bonham’s.  So while affordability is in the eye of the beholder, there were several tempting offerings, like a driver-quality 1968 jaguar XKE coupe for $44,000, and a pristine 1952 MG TD for $29,000.  After those, however, the appreciation curve shot upward, with an unbelievably original 1965 XKE Series 1 4.2 coupe going for $200,000 and a similarly original 1961 E-Type Roadster hitting $380,000.  And in the I’ve-never-seen-one-of-those-before, a 1951 Lotus, claimed to be the very first road-worthy […]

For the video this week we are going to turn back the clock a bit. Well, a lot. Heck, we are actually having to throw the entire calendar into the way-back machine. We might even have to throw in a bit of Doctor Who‘s timey-wimey travel. Our video this week is of the Standard Triumph factory at Canley in Coventry back in 1965. Think of the Triumph Herald and the Spitfire. For an interesting aerial overview of the Canley factory, take a look at the Canley Triumph Works page over at the Triumph Herald Archive.

MG Motoring Memories is our video of the week this go round. Composed of current and old footage from MG’s heyday, this video from the Magnificent Motorcars series by Green HD Production really does bring back the memories. Part of the real interest in this video is that it documents not only MG’s history, but the brands history in the United States and how that affected cars in both America and Europe. The influence of MG on the Chevrolet Corvette is a primary focus. I also have to say, on a personal note, that the video mentions Clemson University, the college that my son is currently attending. How can a connection like that be resisted?

Most automobile enthusiasts love the BBC program Top Gear. Actually, a lot of people who don’t care a wit about cars enjoy the program as well. At least the version of the show from the UK as created by the BBC. We won’t talk about the US version. In fact, let’s forget I brought it up at all. The British version, the real version, of Top Gear is a phenomenon. By many accounts it is the most watched factual, meaning not drama or fiction, program in the world. Though originally a regional program hosted by Angela Rippon, one of the main reasons for the current popularity is host Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson hosts along with co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond. Not only is Clarkson humor, entertaining, and a good driver, he is loud, rude, and prone to get into trouble […]

In honor of the announcement at the Geneva International Motor Show of the new Morgan Aero 8, our video this week is Morgan’s promotional clip of the new sports car. • Over 1250 Aero platform cars delivered since 1st generation launch in 2000. • New Aero 8 signifies return to soft top motoring within the current Aero range. • Significant changes to the aluminium chassis, suspension and vehicle aerodynamics. • Powered by a 4.8 litre V8 BMW engine producing 367bhp. • Available with 6 speed manual or automatic transmission (with paddle shift). • New Hand sculpted aluminium body and revised interior styling. • Largest options list of any Morgan sports car to date. • The Aero SuperSports and Coupé cease production in April 2015. • Production begins during quarter 4 of this year. For more information on the new Morgan […]