Classic Car of the Week: Lancia Appia (1953)

My pick of the week is the 1953 Lancia Appia.

The Appia debuted at the Turin Motor Show in 1953 along side the Alfa Romero B.A.T. 5 concept. Intended as Lancia's entry level option marketed opposite the luxury Aurelia model, the Appia sought to emulate luxury feeling of it's sister whilst replacing and substituting materials to save on manufacturing costs.

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Classic Car of the Week: Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (1954)

My pick of the week is the 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL.

src: barret-jackson.com

The first incarnation of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL was the W194 issued by Mercedes-Benz for the racing season of 1952. It saw wins at Le Mans, Nürburgring and the Carrera Panamericana thanks mostly to its design rather than what was under the hood as the original model only saw up to 175hp on average. It was its weight and aerodynamics which ultimately made the model competitive.

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CLASSIC CAR OF THE WEEK: Mercury Cougar (1967)

This week's pick is the 1967 Mercury Cougar.

src: boldride.com

Mercury's first pony car became it's second longest produced nameplate in the range. The Cougar was modeled after the Ford Mustang with the emphasis being placed on luxury over performance. The Cougar shared many components with it's twin initially, with the key difference being it was an extra 3 inches longer than the Mustang and the 'electric shaver' style grille.

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Classic Car (ads) of the Week: Christmas Edition

1. General Motors (1960)

src: pinterest.com

2. Ford Mustang (1969)

src: pinterest.com

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Classic Car of the Week: Triumph Spitfire (1962)

My pick of the week is the Triumph Spitfire.

src: classicperformancecar.com

It's the entry level sports car that almost never was. When Triumph first penned the Spitfire the financial outlook did not look good and they were unable to begin production. It wasn't until the Leyland buyout that it became a viable project again, hitting the market in 1962.

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Classic Car of the Week: Lincoln Zephyr (1936)

My pick of the week is the 1936 Lincoln Zephyr.

This little stunner first rolled off production lines in 1936 and when it did, design wise it was well ahead of its time featuring an aerodynamic shape made it one of the first successful streamlined automobiles available on the market. Taking inspiration from the 'monocoque' structure, the aptly named Zephyr was surprisingly light for its size which gave it that extra edge when it came to areodynamism.

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Classic Car of the Week: Plymouth Road Runner (1968)

My pick of the week is the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner.

src: carlustblog.com

'Beep, Beep!' as a well known speedster would say, and boy did Plymouth pay through the nose for the rights to imitate him, something to the tune of $50,000 dollars to use the name, image and his trademark 'Beep' which, naturally, was used as the horn sound. The Road Runner was first produced in 1968 as part of Plymouth's mid-size range, with the Road Runner taking up position as the performance model.

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Classic Car of the Week: Pontiac Firebird (1967)

My pick of the week is the Pontiac Firebird.

src: carbuffs.com

The Pontiac Firebird represents one of GM's first forays into the emerging pony car market when the original intention to make a more commercially viable version of the Pontiac Banshee concept would have left them in direct competition with their own Chevrolet brand. That being said. when it first rolled off production lines in 1967, a lot of the Firebird was composed of parts which paid homage to the Camero but thankfully there was enough of the Pontiac about it to carry a unique feeling to the car, particularly under the hood.

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Classic Car of the Week: Nash Metropolitan (1953)

My pick of the week is the Nash Metropolitan.

The Nash Metropolitan stands out from its contemporaries for the simple reason that as they worked to build longer and wider models, Nash took the route of marketing a commuter's car. Something more compact and practical for the everyday 'about town' trips. In fact the Metropolitan was soon dubbed the 'World's Smallest Smaller Car'

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Classic Car of the Week: DeSoto Hardtop (1961)

My pick of the week is the 1961 DeSoto Hardtop.

src: blog.hemmings.com

The '61 Hardtop represented the end of an era for the DeSoto range. The range was shrunk down to the two options of a 2-door and a 4-door hardtop of a similar design to the 1960 Fireflite with the exception of the two tier grille design and slanted double headlights. The decision to discontinue production came at the end of November, followed by a scramble as dealers tried to sell off what remained of their stock.

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Classic Car of the Week: Cadillac Eldorado (1959)

My pick of the week is the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado.

src: pinterest.com

First rolling off production lines in 1953, the Cadillac Eldorado was intended as a limited production concept car and a sub-series of the Cadillac Series 62 coming to market at a whopping $7750.

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Classic Car of the Week: 1949 Buick Roadmaster

My classic car pick this week is the 1949 Buick Roadmaster.

Image from 1949 advert for Buick Roadmaster src: pinterest.com

Initially the Roadmaster name was applied to all Buick vehicles in 1936 to highlight significant advances in engine and design. The 1949 edition saw the bodies get leaner and the length of the vehicle shorten with the iconic grille styling and bonnet shape taking on a more sleek appearance, but the most significant change the the 1949 model was the introduction of the porthole styling on the side of the front fenders. The Roadmaster shared this feature with the Super, both styled in chrome but the Roadmaster featured four of these portholes on both sides vs the Super's three.

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Classic Car of the Week: Lincoln Premiere

I've got a bit of a thing for the wheels of the past. Something about the geometries of a boxy vintage motor, all glittering chrome and soft tops, which never fails to slap a smile on my face. Hence why I'm penning this new weekly feature: Classic Car of the Week and we are starting as we mean to go on this week by featuring the stunning 1957 Lincoln Premiere.

1957 Lincoln Premiere src: momentcar.com

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10 best car ads from the noughties

It is my humble opinion that the noughties were some of the best years for creative car ads on our telly. Puppets, giant cakes, giant robots and very satisfying chain reactions are just some of the ways that motor markets tried to tempt us with their latest models, all appealing to our inner kid. Here's a list of some of my picks of the decade.

1. Citroen - "Transformer"

It's horrible to have to admit that a car has better moves than you do on the dance floor but let's face it, the C4bot had more than a little help from Marty Kudelka, none other than Justin Timberlake's own choreographer and a good handful of digital animation artists who combined motion capture techniques.

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10 first models of car brands we love

Every great story has a beginning, here's where these famous brands took their first steps to automotive stardom:

1. Ferrari: 125 S (1947)

src: imgur.com

The first car to bear the Ferrari name, the 125 S debuted in 1947 on the Piacenza Circuit.

2. Maserati: Tipo 26 (1926)

src: snipview.com

The first car built by Maserati made its debut in the 1926 Targa Florio, finishing first in the Grand Prix class.

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10 vintage concept cars which were ahead of their time

Simcar Fulgar (1958)

The brain child of designer Robert Opron, the idea of this car was to show what we would be driving in the 21st century. It was to feature atomic power, voice control, radar navigation and gyroscopic wheels. Switch the atomic power for electric and I guess he wasn't far off!

Cadillac Cyclone (1959)

Designed by WW2 camouflage pioneer, Harley Earl, the Cadillac Cyclone was inspired by rocket designs of the 1950s. It featured UV protection and radar in the nose cones on the front of the vehicle. This was part of a collision avoidance system which gave audible warning about incoming vehicles - the likes of which weren't really seen on modern commercial vehicles until the 2006 Audi Q7.

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What Your Car Looked Like Back In The Day

Ford Fiesta

Then

Now

The Ford Fiesta: the UK's best selling car and the long-term staple of learners and fresh passed drivers everywhere. The boxy design of it's 1976 debut model was replaced by Ford's 'New Edge' styling in 1999, characterized by the soft arcs and rounded features which are more akin to the Fiesta of today.

Vauxhall Corsa

Then

Now

Debuting in 1982, it started out life as the Opel Corsa before becoming the Vauxhall Nova in the UK and later the Corsa again, reviving the name in the early 90's. Major facelifts feature in the late 90's when the rounded bumper which was becoming vogue in the industry was adopted. Later changes include the 'Eagle eye' headlamps and new grill style which looks awfully happy from the right angle.

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8 classic cartoon cars we all wanted to drive as kids

I grew up on a healthy diet of Saturday morning cartoons. I spent hours curled up on the sofa in my Spiderman pjs munching on sugary cereal staring at the screen as I kicked butt with anthropomorphic sea life; solved crime with men in lycra wearing their underpants on the outside; and foiled the nefarious schemes of Old Man Jenkins the janitor right from the comfort of my improvised pillow fort.

src: tumblr.com

But for me the most memorable kids shows always had really cool set of wheels because really, the cars saved the day. They could do anything, be anything they needed to be with gadgets galore to get our heroes out of the worst scrapes the animators could throw at them. Forget Ferrari, I want a Hana-Barbera model! That's why I'm paying homage this week to 8 of the best classic cartoon cars...