MIlitary surplus motorcycles for sale in 1946 (great photo) in bulk, it was between 5 and 10 you had to buy to get any.

from http://momentdinspiration.blogspot.com/

Speed record setting BMW motorcycle

Sept 1936, Ernst Henne
Cool looking early fairing design and I found it on http://momentdinspiration.blogspot.com/

Vauxhall beats BMW and MINI in this week's style stakes

UGLY, well-built and not as attractive as this time six or seven years ago.

Anyway enough about me; let's look the new BMW 1-Series, the second generation of BMW's entry-level offering, and the new MINI Coupe, which has finally been unveiled in production form after what feels like an epoch. Given the number of their immediate predecessors you see knocking around it's almost certain they'll sell like hot cakes.


But wait. Is it just me or are neither particularly good looking?

It would be spectacularly stupid to buy a car on looks alone because, like a pretty girl who turns out to be rubbish in bed, there a lots of motors that look great but turn out to be a letdown. Nor should you dismiss something with the looks of bulldog that's swallowed a wasp, because otherwise spectacularly ugly cars like the Alfa SZ wouldn't be acknowledged today as classics.

Even so, I still wonder what the BMW group's stylists were thinking of when they signed off a MINI Cooper wearing a baseball cap instead of a roof and a small hatchback wearing horn-rimmed spectacles. Artworks these new arrivals aren't.

I know beauty's in the eye of the beholder, but most people agree on motoring's mingers and I can't see why - no matter how degrees in Art and Design you've got - someone would deliberately come up with something like the Ssangyong Rodius. There is, in this day an age, no excuse for coming up with an ugly car.

Especially not when you consider what Vauxhall came up with just a few days after the 1-Series was announced. I know that small boys don't dream of owning an Astra when they grow up but the new GTC three-door might help change things; have you seen the styling of this thing? I've no idea whether it's any better to drive than Volkswagen's Scirocco, my favourite of the small coupes, but it is the Siena Miller of three-door hatchbacks and the Veedub isn't. I'm not saying it'll be brilliant, but being a bit of a looker's a good place to start.



So the Astra GTC's a svelte and pleasingly-styled car where two other new arrivals aren't. She is, as some of my mates would say, proper fit.

Model T's on 21 studs tumblr

Model T's getting offloaded from the train to the dealership
The tools and grease pump display board on the far side of the car are a reminder that a garage once was a display case for the small oil company products, for a good look at one see the Richfield lube rack https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBA2Y4B3SEK51md5bXA06jqUCrpSxhICE2VbwdbD80JMqCvsJfCNYqDQc0N9g9pqaB1SQyiH8hCSOd_IFImEZTwAX88Kqns9743i3wgKYCXawQMXKcUfL-r4DAOOW_OQtJ3nRO1K0zIFYU/s1600/DSC_0038.JPG

Doesn't she look cute in the sailor outfit

great photos I've never come across before! terrific Tumblr site, now on my recommended list http://21studs.tumblr.com/

One amazing movie theater display for a Hitchcock flick, and a interesting taxi on the street in front

Look close at the rear window area of the taxi... Only Steve B nailed the question I had about it. It's a Checker Model A, 1939 to 41 (this will be a new post)

found on http://fuckyeahvintage-retro.tumblr.com/

Fire up the... Nissan LEAF

THIS is, depending on how you look it, a multiple award-winner that'll start a revolution in motoring or a flop in the making.

It's not unfair to say that Nissan's LEAF, winner of both the European and World car of the year awards this year, is the first electric car to get taken seriously by the motoring press. It's also got the Government's blessing, because they'll give you a whopping £5,000 off as part of efforts to wean you away from petrol and diesel. Getting this car right isn't just good for Nissan, then. It's good for saving the ice caps and mending the ozone layer too.

It's just a shame then that this all-important car isn't going to woo with its looks, which is important because a lots of people do buy cars on style alone. I admire Nissan for avoiding the electric car cliches and going for the classic five door hatchback look, but to my mind at least the fresh-looking front end is ruined by a rear that's strangely proportioned and hard to get used to.


The inside's far better, thanks to a great use of colour coordination, a suitably futuristic dashboard and a feeling of general solidity and safety boosted by its 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating. Roomy, robust and a nice place to be, it's somewhere you'd happily stay even after the battery's run out.

Obviously you don't get your characteristic petrol throb or diesel rattle when you start it up, but the great thing about the noise the Leaf makes is that there isn't any. All you can hear is the roar of the tyres, which you won't notice because you'll be busy wondering why you can't feel the weight of the batteries in the steering or handling. Make no mistake, this is one cleverly-engineered car.

Sure, there's the issue of range - 100 miles, if you're asking - but if you only ever do short trips, like lots of people I know, then it's unlikely you'll notice.

It's tricky to say how much it costs to fill up - it depends on whether you have Economy 7 or not - but the smart money says it'll cost you about 2p a mile in fuel, compared to around 15p for a small petrol car.

But as always there's a price to pay for being ahead of the pack - which is the price. At £23,990, the LEAF isn't rubbing shoulders with Focuses and Astras, but 3 Series BMWs and Golf GTis, and that's after the Government discount.


It's an impressive car but to buy it you'd have to be someone who either has a second car for longer journeys, or just really, really want one.

Life On Cars, Issue Five!

WASPS. Hayfever. Hosepipe bans. There are, unfortunately, lots of things about summer you won't like.

But one of the things you can't beat is blasting down a B-road on a warm evening, and there's no better way to do it than in a British sports car. That's why the latest issue of the Life On Cars Magazine, which is finally ready, is a summer special devoted to them.

So enjoy the latest issue, preferably in the sunshine as you would a sports car itself...

Open publication - Free publishing - More cars