Spring Bank Holidays Classic Car Run

On the Horseshoe Pass near Llangollen the Rover P4 100 heads the 1965 Sunbeam Alpine with some spirited driving. (See the old girl lift up her skirt and show a clean pair of heels) Photo by David Knight

Results 2013 Classic Car Show.

Car of the Show - The Autoservices Millennium Trophy
Porsche 911 Carrera - Martin Ruddick

Pre 1945 - Denbighshire Leisure Cup & Rock Auto Voucher
1st - Austin 7 Ulster - Richard Holdsworth
2nd - Ford Y Tourer - Clive Harrison
3rd - Morris Isis - Raymond Smith

Saloon 1945 - 1960 - The Bon Cup & Rock Auto Voucher
1st - Wolseley 1500 - Mervyn Hughes
2nd - MG Magnette - Philip Bennett 3rd - Bentley Mk6 - David Bernie

Saloon 1961 - 1975 - The Les Edwards Cup & Rock Auto Voucher
1st - Sunbeam Rapier - Jim Minshull
2nd - Wolseley 16/60 - Ceriog Morris
3rd - Rover 2000SC - Malcolm Hughes

Sports Car - The Auto Drive Hire Trophy & The Circuit Go Kart Voucher
1st - Triumph TR3 - Polly McIllveed
2nd - Fiat X1/9 - Andy Rowley
3rd - MG Midget - John Etheridge

Supercar - The Dragon Trophy & Rock Auto Voucher
Porsche 911 Carrera - Martin Ruddick

Personalised Car - THe Prestatyn Car Show Cup & The Circuit Go Kart Voucher
Vauxhall Astra - Robin Burrows

American Classic - The Steve Moss Trophy & The Circuit Go Kart Voucher
1st - Pontiac Grand Prix - Hans Bjelkhagen
2nd - Corvette Stingray - Palmo Demarinas
3rd - Chevrolet Camaro - Steven Dawson

Motorcycle - Denbighshire Salver
Boom Lowrider - Tony Bestall

Commercial - The Jubillee Cup
Morris Suntour - Ian Kennedy

Military - The Snowdon Cup
Willys Jeep M201 - John Jones

Replica - Prestatyn Car Show Salver
1st - Broomstick XK120 - Nicolall Gordon
2nd - Cobra Pilgram - Chris Myring
3rd - VW Beach Buggy - Mark Jackson

Club Stand - DCC Cup
Alfa Romeo (Mold)

Bank Holiday weekends are no fun for motorists

So another Bank Holiday weekend’s been and gone. How was yours?

If you were sensible you probably spent it trying to shelter your pint from the searing heat of the sun in a beer garden of your choice, enjoying a round of a rather different sort at the Royal Birkdale or – if you were feeling adventurous – trying to avoid a DIY-induced trip to your nearest Accident & Emergency.

It’s just a shame, then, that I loathe Bank Holidays with a venom usually only reserved for Bob Geldof, the music of Will.i.am and the Kia Pride. Part of the problem is that – unlike days you’ve chosen to take our your holiday allowance, when the world truly is your oyster and you’re free to make whatever carefully considered plans you like for it – Bank Holidays are essentially days when the Government tells you that you must have fun. Whitehall telling you to enjoy yourself is like telling a six-year-old child to go to sleep – because of the imperatives involved, it ain’t gonna happen.

But worse still is the unintended but inevitable byproduct of Britain’s population being told, en masse, to have a good time; the slightly silly amounts of traffic on the major roads and motorways from clocking off work on Friday right through to the following Tuesday morning. As much I love cars and driving, even I was wishing someone would get on with inventing a successful teleportation system as I sat in the same two mile stretch of M6 for the 45th minute last Friday night. If you can liken Britain’s road network to a living, breathing thing, then the Bank Holiday weekend represents the clogged arteries that come after the nation collectively gorging itself on the double cheeseburger that is the working week.

I can see the retort coming already; perhaps, rather than being one of these people inconveniently helping cause a bit of congestion, I should have just avoided travelling? I would have loved to have travelled at a different time but I could only leave work to get where I needed to be when – you guessed it – work finished. I’d only dared venture onto the M6, at rush hour on a Friday night on a Bank Holiday weekend, because it connects where I’d come from with where I wanted to go. Thanks to the brilliance of Bank Holiday weekends, that’s the predicament everyone else was in too.

There was that idiotic suggestion by some Government think tank that Bank Holidays should be abolished altogether, but really what Whitehall ought to do, for the nation’s collective commuting sanity, is find a way of managing the congestion nightmares they cause for thousands of people, none of whom especially want to be stuck there.

That or get busy giving a grant to whoever can invent a teleporter.

Car clubs urged to lend their backing to this year's Lydiate Classic Car Show

Car clubs across the north west are being encouraged to help the organisers of a classic car show to help fund the battle against cancer.

The organisers of the Lydiate Classic Car Show said they were keen to hear from car clubs who would be interested to hear from any car clubs keen to bring their classics to Merseyside for the July 7 event, which will help to raise funds for Cancer Research UK.

Event co-organiser Ben Spears said: “Currently in its sixth year, the show has raised almost £10,000 for the cancer charity. “The entrance fee is a flat £2 for all, and as well as classic machinery on show there are also charity stalls, hot food and parts for sale.

"There is no need to pre book, you can just turn up on the day and pay on the gate, but it is always advisable to turn up early.”

The show, which takes place at Lydiate Parish Hall, opposite the Scotch Piper, between 10am and 4pm, feature classic cars and motorbikes from clubs across the region.

To find out more search for “Lydiate Classic Car Show” on Facebook or call Ben Spears on 07931 746 520.

Classic Car Run

Just to show the different types of car attracted to our show. Above is a Ultima GTR starting on our Sundays Classic Car Run.
See the last post to get the contrast in Machinery More photos of the 2013 Show very soon

Fire up the... Vauxhall Corsa 1.4 SRI

LIKE garnishing an omelette with a helping of jalapeños, Vauxhall’s hoping that treating its supermini to the sporty SRI treatment will give the Corsa some added spice.

While it’s not the hottest Corsa on offer – that honour going to the track day fan’s favourite, the VXR Nürburgring – this SRI screams potential, thanks to the 17-inch alloy wheels and the bodykit inspired by its leerier big brother. But before I can find out whether it’s as enticing to drive as it to behold, it’s time to get a confession out of the way. Over the past few years I’ve driven a couple of Corsas – primarily the 1.0 litre Ecoflex and the 1.2 petrol versions – and haven’t exactly heaped praise on them.

Happily, things get off to a good start with the SRI once you hop inside – the red stitching on the steering wheel and the scarlet seat surrounds immediately give you the air of being inside something a bit special without straying into boy racer territory, and it’s more than comfortable and amply equipped for its £15,600 price tag. It suffers from the same enormous blind spots as its Corsa siblings, but that aside it’s somewhere you’ll enjoy being on even the longest of trips.

Thanks to its clever variable valve timing system the 1.4 petrol engine offers up plenty of punch without resorting to turbocharging, but because the real oomph’s only to be discovered above 3,000rpm it’s a car that encourages you to drive it by the scruff of its neck – probably the reason why I only managed, despite my best efforts, to get a shade over forty to the gallon in it. It’s great for rev-happy blasts along country lanes, but effortless motorway overtaking really isn’t the SRI’s strong suit.

It’s a similarly mixed bag when you get to the corners too, because while it handles with plenty of aplomb the steering is nowhere near sharp enough to encourage a keen driver to start enjoying it. The SRI is keenly priced, handles well and is still one of the best looking superminis on the market – particularly after Ford’s not entirely successful facelift of the Fiesta – but in every other respect it’s comprehensively outclassed not just by the Fiesta, but by Peugeot’s 208 as well.

 It’s got plenty to offer, but until Vauxhall’s new Corsa comes on stream next year I couldn’t really recommend it.

Donington Historic Festival 2013 - Pictures

AS PROMISED, here's a few more pictures of the cars inside the gates at this year's Donington Historic Festival, following the peek at some of the unlikely car park stars earlier this week.

It's a shame this year's event - the first I've been to - ended on such a tragic note, but that didn't stop thousands of enthusiasts heading to the Leicestershire racing circuit to check out all sorts of dream cars of all ages, whether they were on the track, parked up in the paddock or being proudly shown off on the classic car club stands.

Here's just a few of the sights seen by Life On Cars at the event:

 

Have you got an event you'd like to share with Life On Cars? Get in touch by sending an email to david.simister@hotmail.co.uk or by simply leaving a comment below.