Alusilber

I learned to drive in 1987 in a Malaga 1.2 hatchback, D135EFS. At least I wrote down at the time that it was a hatchback, I don't actually have a clear memory of the body shape now. It did have the weird switch pods instead of stalks, I do remember that (and stalling it numerous times at roundabouts...). Tax ran out in 1994, so very much doubt it's still around in any shape or form.

To be honest, haven’t considered that…

Found out the hard way today that if you spray CarPlan No.1 Super Gloss on your car and don’t immediately buff it all off, you end up with dried spots of CarPlan No.1 Super Gloss that are an absolute bugger to get rid off (any suggestions that don’t involve machine polishing gratefully received…) 😣

Hmmm, interesting theory. The last two characters of the number plate look like they might be "13" (first digit not so certain), which is the department code for Bouches-du-Rhône (Marseille etc.). Or they might be "33" which would be Gironde (Bordeaux). Not sure if that helps...

Much like the Minor! Although that did of course change in various ways through its production life, but not in any way that made it look less like a product of the 1940s... Personally, mine is the VW Type 3 fastback (squarebacks don't really do it for me in the same way). Or even the Type 4, though they're like hobby horse manure now.

I think what you're going to need is a Match Edition (or GT Edition, or R-Line Edition...) - basically the Mk7.5 runout models they built around October-December 2019, which have various extra toys (including 2Zone climate control) as standard. It'll be a lot more than £10k though...

Peugeot 2008 (first-gen): Strange aircraft-throttle-like handbrake lever, just pointless. Also, little oddment tray directly under handbrake lever - don't put anything bigger than a coin there, or you'll mash your knuckles into it when you release the handbrake. Plus a solid metal gearknob (gets cold in winter and hot in summer), a couple of cup holders buried underneath the dashboard, and a row of buttons down on the right-hand side of the steering column that are masked perfectly by the steering wheel.

This is sad. I discovered austin-rover.co.uk (as was) around 2001 and quickly became fascinated by the "inside stories" of familiar BL models. This triggered a deep interest in the automotive industry which I still have today. All that great content needs to be saved somehow? 🥺

These prototypes/mockups should have been transferred to Gaydon back in 2005, since they were hardly going to be of any use to SAIC. Moving them "temporarily" into open storage without so much as a tarp over them shows how much Chinese MG really cares about its heritage.

Also great for obscuring vehicles in your blind spot and stopping your rear seat passengers seeing out the window I expect? Also... "Once fitted, the side-mounted gear carrier and bracket are not intended to be removed from the vehicle" - bloody hell, what kind of mess do they make fitting the thing?

To be fair, the new Puma isn't intended to be a successor to the old one, it's just a name that was too good not to reuse...

Spotted today near my manor, a slightly neglected Lancia Dedra of all things…

My old man's last car was a red Mk4 1.25 Encore. I only drove it once to get it MoT'd before selling it after he popped his clogs. Seemed pleasant enough to drive but then the MoT garage was only 5 minutes away. Sold it to someone from Aberdeenshire. Looking at the DVLA data, it made it to 13 years old, I suppose not bad going for a Ford that far north.

Yes, I can report that the number plate is still in place!

Speaking of Enfield 8000s, I found this one in the Hellenic Motor Museum in Athens the other week…

Last time I went past my local dealer of "interesting" second-hand cars (Edward Labinjoh), there was a strange Ford with a nose reminiscent of a Volvo 480 on the forecourt. Turns out it's a 1990 Australian Ford Capri, which was based on a Mazda 323 platform, and was nothing like a European Ford Capri. 1990 Ford Capri Turbo

At my last place, there was a bloke (who I never got round to speaking to) who brought this to work when we had our annual open day. Had to do a bit of googling to work out what it was 😉. I believe a rally-prepped Porsche 356 that was often in the car park was also his.

I do like a B3 Audi Coupe. Pretty thin on the ground these days sadly.

Doing anything remotely lairy in a Morgan Super3 according to BBC H&S rules would necessitate a skid lid surely? 😧 Worryingly, he used to tweet quite regularly before the accident, but hasn't since.

My 924 was remarkably unmolested given that it had 9 owners before me, from Colchester to Fife, via the south coast, West Midlands and Nottinghamshire, judging by the surviving paperwork that came with it.

Issigonis was dead against wind-up windows on the Mini - they would rob space from his door storage bins, which he thought were much more important. After BMC merged with Leyland, Harry Webster took over as technical director, and Issigonis was sidelined. They let him continue with his pet projects (like 9X) but the BL management were never serious about taking any of them into production.

But is the boot of a TR7 really big enough to swallow two metal detectors and the associated tackle?🤔

Alas, there will be no 21st century resurrected Aleko... https://www.carscoops.com/2022/11/soviet-era-moskvich-returns-with-a-rebadged-chinese-crossover/

An Ibex F8 by any chance? 😏

Bonus portakabin in the background.