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I’ve mentioned this before, but our old school bus (c. 1990) was an old Sherpa/Freightrover. There were no seat belts or headrests and the last pupil who got in had to hold the back doors shut with a length of string.

Aah good idea. Here goes... Orange* Qashqai driver. Male, mid-40s. All the women want him, all the men want to be him. That ought to cover it. *The car is orange not me, I'm not Donald Trump.

I usually picture them as looking like Shaun (Barry from Eastenders) Williamson who has absolutely nailed the laddishly cheerful desperation of the middle aged divorcee (see his appearance in Plebs). But I agree about the other, my mates dad had a 'mid'life crisis in his 70s and ran off with a female friend of the family, he opted to stay relevant by growing a straggly grey ponytail out of his remaining hair.

Where I live pickups are often owned by employees of the local shoot. They're all young men earning peanuts. They're a Tories wet dream, working class lads who are incredibly deferential to the system, and often literally tug their forelock to anyone dressed in tweed with a plummy accent. Dislike anyone who isn't into country sports or who doesn't have their own exact world view. They'll happily see their kids go without in order to afford the repayments on a nearly new L200 or Navara, because driving a pickup is essential to their own self worth. They're essentially the exact equivalent of good ole boys in the American Deep South.

These are brilliant, so well observed, I've even recognised myself about three times, especially the 'Failure in their 30s one'. 'The divorcee biker' Male, middle aged, gone to seed. Not often actually seen out on the roads because they're too busy fettling or sorting out the paperwork for the literally 30 or 40 bikes they've managed to cram into their small semi since the missus upped and left. Most likely encountered riding too and from an MoT on a 70s Universal Japanese Motorcycle. Most likely encountered (by shocked friends) sitting on a dilapidated brown leatherette sofa possibly wearing only their pants and a vest eating a Pot Noodle or something out of a tin whilst watching daytime telly over a forest of bikes crammed into their lounge. Prone to repeating his mantra of; 'best thing I ever did getting shot of the old ball and chain'. The bike/single man theme extends to the rest of the house which is festooned with posters of nude women/bikes, bike and actual porn and furnishings which haven't been changed since the divorce. May own a 4 wheeled vehicle, usually an old van, which doubles as additional storage for more bikes.

Well done Datsun! My happy is also Oxford Diecast related, although unlike you I'll have to pay for the privilege. Oxford are (hopefully) releasing this, a teeny 'railway scale' County 1884 next year. Praying it doesn't get mired in development hell.

Endless Mk2 Escorts and various less expected motahs like an old 80s Mercedes and an E30 at the Woodpecker Rally today. I didn’t see them in action but the refuelling point was next to my house so I saw/heard/smelt them going back and forth. The unsurfaced access road did result in all my stuff on the drive getting coated in dust.

I spotted quite a few engineering refurbishment places in Aus, offering remanufactured engines and the like. I think its quite common in the US and Canada as well. On a related note a lot of agri repair places are refurbishing old or middle aged tractors and other farm equipment for farmers who don't want to or can't afford to pay for modern (astonishingly expensive) kit. There is also something to be said for mechanical systems which usually give fair warning before they break, whereas electronic systems can often shut down and leave a vehicle completely inoperative.

I've often wondered why older trucks aren't more common, is it a question of them reaching the end of their economic life and being too expensive to contemplate rebuilding or it is more to do with the need for reliability/warranty on something that needs to be utterly reliable? TBH I've heard that some modern trucks can be a bit deficient in the reliability stakes these days, usually down to electronic or sensor issues. I couldn't help noticing how many old trucks are still running in Australia, and how many engine remanufacturers/rebuilders there are. Same with heavy plant, people prefer to keep rebuilding what they've got rather than buying a replacement digger or whatever every six or seven years. They also prefer fairly old tech designs, although I think emissions rules are much more lenient over there.

At least that's one thing owners of old Landrovers don't have to contend with. +1 for bodging it up though.

An Aussie fuel truck. I did see loads of exciting American trucks, including the iconic Peterbilts and Kenworths also loads of Macks (my favourite) but whilst driving, so couldn’t photograph them.

A Sterling truck (defunct US manufacturer) now used by the same learner driver school as the ones previously snapped in this location.

Couple spotted in Australia…. Haval H6 (generic Chinese crossover made by Great Wall) quite popular in Aus. Skoda Scala, presumably on the Golf/A3 platform.

I work in the heritage sector specialising in surveying historic buildings and this sort of thing is increasingly common. Historic buildings especially listed ones are especially at risk as owners or developers see them as a pain in the arse to redevelop. Also it is hard to get change of use for a commercial property such as a public house for housing which is where all the money is. There is little risk to the developer in all this, they’ll get what they want and it’ll keep happening.

Sorry for the shite photo but the Australia women’s football team coach this morning.

A clean MoT suddenly makes it all worthwhile again.

The Mk 1 Qashqai is Autoshite heaven. Easy to work on, well made, easy to get parts for and utterly disposable. It’s really quite old hat and decidedly unpretentious too, not unlike a Dacia in fact (also has French underpinnings for that matter).

I’d describe the Duster as a crossover rather than an SUV. As far as I can tell the appeal of crossovers is as follows; Has the desirable and fashionable 4x4 look but without the weight, complexity and running costs of a real 4x4. Bear in mind most actual 4x4s are completely superfluous as they aren’t used off road. Raised seating position, for improved visibility, also easier for old people or people with restricted mobility to get in and out. I like mine because it is good for use off road where traction isn’t too bad, it’s no bigger, heavier, worse on fuel or worse to drive than a hatchback, it is excellent in floods (quite common in mid Wales) and it is a perfect an car. I suspect Volvo are discontinuing estate models due to lack of sales. ETA- In respect of the last point motorcycle sales, which have had to allow for an ageing demographic now tend towards to adventure bikes and upright tourers with many manufacturers completely discontinuing their sports bike ranges (the once ubiquitous 600cc super sport class is now almost extinct).

More Aussie trucks…. I think this is a Mitsubishi Canter or similar but a 4x4 version with outback touring body and camping trailer. Next was this interesting Bedford pickup owned by a newly licensed driver (red P plate).

Another Aussie UD learner truck, this time a cute little 6x4 (7.5 tonne size) flatbed

Aah, you’d need one of these…

Depends on the definition of classic. I do frequently use my Land Rover as a daily, notably recently whilst changing the clutch on my car, which became a bit of a protracted process taking several weeks. It also gets used for proper Land Rover stuff like off roading or towing. It copes rather well, and it is and has always been notably reliable, notwithstanding the odd component starting to fail due to extreme old age (e.g. the now replaced brake master cylinder). It does often cross my mind when some distance from home (especially on a motorway) that it is a bit of a big ask to expect a car built nearly 60 years ago and still largely original to keep working but it does. I do prefer to own/ride oldish motorbikes, they’re usually still perfectly fit for purpose and reliable whilst not being as much of a theft risk if left unattended (new bikes are often stolen to order). Also I’d much rather chuck 1200 quids worth of bike down the road than 5 or 6 grands worth.

I always found that error in the design of the Corgi Landrover very glaring, the smart new design of the truck cab roof for the Series II was iconic and instantly recognisable. Bearing in mind how much mileage Corgi got out of the moulding (and that they redesigned it as a SWB) it wouldn’t have killed them to sort the bloody roof. The Spot On version is way superior.

I’ve been truck spotting in Queensland. Interestingly most trucks are double drive here and bonneted trucks (usually Mack) are quite common especially as short body tippers. I rather liked this learner UD tractor unit.

I owned one for a few years (sold it to buy a sensible family car when we had our first kid). It was pretty good, didn't suffer any major issues, apart from a recurrent air mass sensor (or whatever it was) issue exacerbated by spending hours sitting in Bristol traffic, and cured by removing it and cleaning with carb cleaner. One thing that really pissed me off was tedious people going on about how they're not a patch on a real Mini. I owned two real Minis, both of which were fun, but frankly very crap and an absolute arse to keep on the road (use to dread MoT time). Also the new model was and probably still is fantastic to drive, not especially fast, but loads of fun on bendy roads. Plus it was a genuinely happy car you'd always look forward to driving. The R50 model was obviously rather bigger than the original model but still a very small compact car and not overly heavy either. I reckon one would be ideal for trackdays, the handling and steering feel is great, especially on the narrow standard tyres.