Category: Classic Cars

Even though 1957 was the year that Buick celebrated the building of their nine-millionth car, sales were gradually slipping and the marque could only achieve fourth position in the industry sales chart. To rectify this situation the Buick division of General Motors expended considerable funds in improving Buick styling as it was considered ‘old fashioned’ when buyers compared their offerings with the opposition’s range. The Buick Roadmaster for 1957 was a large car – 5.46 metres long and 1.83 metres wide. It was powered by a 5.9-litre V8 engine with… Read more

J S Rasmussen, a Danish citizen and engineer, moved to Berlin in 1906 where he began the manufacture of weaponry and steam powered vehicles. His company, DKW, stood for Dampf Kraft Wagen (car propelled by steam). His factories were in Zschopau and later also Spandau, Berlin, where he had taken over the Slaby car works. Rasmussen wanted a small lightweight engine to power bicycles and set out developing a two-stroke engine. After three years of development he came up with a tiny, 40cc unit of a mere 187 watts. It… Read more

At the outbreak of war in September 1939 Alvis was producing four different models but during an air raid on Coventry in 1940 the car factory was severely damaged with much of the essential equipment destroyed beyond repair causing car production to be suspended for the duration of the war. When car production resumed the first car to go into production was a four-cylinder model, the TA14 whose engine was based on the pre-war 12/70. Whilst this was a reliable and attractive car it reflected the typical austerity forced on… Read more

De Dion made petrol-engined tricycles from 1895 and launched its first petrol engine four-wheel car in 1899. It could seat four passengers in a configuration which had the front passengers facing back towards the driver and his accompanying passenger. Such a layout was ideal for conversation providing, of course, that their voices could be heard over the noise of the engine but only on rare occasions were four passengers carried since performance was severely effected with this much load and the driver’s vision was not good. About this time much… Read more

In the eyes of Preston F. Tucker, the American car of just after the end of World War II was totally out-of-date. Most car buyers at that time saw the Buick straight-eight – a large, heavy and conservative model – as the car they aspired to owning. With his 1947 Torpedo, Tucker offered a rear-mounted, flat-six engine with hydraulic valve actuation, sealed cooling system, torque converter-transmission, all-independent suspension and disc brakes. He also included special in-built safety features such as pop-out windscreen, crash padding and break-away mirror – a good… Read more

Colin Chapman, the genius behind Lotus, had one very strong conviction: he refused to compromise. And there was certainly no compromise about the Seven. Whilst it could probably best be described as the nearest thing to a four-wheel motorcycle you’d ever see, this kit-built sportscar was not a tourer but an out-and-out sportscar. In its early years the car was mainly sold in kit form to take advantage of a British tax concession which applied at the time, and enabled the car to be sold at a price which appealed… Read more