26 May 2015 – Driven To Write

Orange Car of the Day: Lancia Beta Coupe

While surveying the cars parked in the paddock at this weekend’s Classic Race Aarhus I noticed the broad range of colours. Red, yellow, light blue, green and orange were all there along with black and metallic grey plus various shades I could not more precisely determine.

This splendid orange Lancia Beta was not the only orange car but the only Lancia present. The interior featured a cosy light green velour and seating inspired by Italian furniture of the period. Only the cracked brown dashboard let things down a little. “The bodywork was developed in-house by a Lancia team led by Aldo Castagno, with Pietro Castagnero acting as styling consultant. Castagnero had also styled the Beta’s predecessor, the Lancia Fulvia saloon and coupé” says Wikipedia. Continue reading “Orange Car of the Day: Lancia Beta Coupe”

Ashtray of the Day: 1955 Ford Thunderbird

I would very much like to have been able to open this ashtray on what I think is a 1955 Ford Thunderbird.

The ashtray is a sliding tray and I invite readers to inform me if the ashtray is illuminated. I am betting it is not. Despite the chrome finish, it’s a bit small for the job, isn’t it? I think the ashtray needed to be double the width so that neither the driver nor passenger would have to reach too far.

Just Parked Up: 1983 Toyota Crown

Behold, a lovingly repainted Toyota Crown, from circa 1983.

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This weekend the Classic Race took place in Aarhus. I went along to have a look at the cars on view near the race track. However, the most interesting and unusual car I saw was not among the 911s, Ferraris, Beetles, Amazons, 2002s and Morris Minors gathered in the paddock. Continue reading

History Repeating – XJ40 Part 18

The Rhymes of Goodbye. As Henry’s new broom sweeps both baby and bathwater, XJ40 gets a final makeover before it bows out.

Twilight of a champion? — Best for last? The 1993 XJ12. Image: automobilesdeluxetv

Bent on beating General Motors to the punch, it appears the Blue Oval not only overpaid but failed to carry out a sufficiently thorough pre-purchase inspection. As the scale of Jaguar’s issues became clear, budgets and new car programmes were slashed. It didn’t take long for the briefings to start, the US giant unashamedly publicising their findings, seemingly oblivious to the negative PR this would engender – to say nothing about morale. Continue reading “History Repeating – XJ40 Part 18”