A Great British attraction

During the pandemic, so many things that were once normal have become rare or even vanished. Car shows, meets, races and more have all felt the force of social distancing and mitigation measures. Fortunately, things are now a little better, with more and bigger events now becoming a reality.

So now is the perfect time to introduce you to a great new visitor attraction. These are never a common event, even outside of the pandemic, so we were very excited to see not only a brand-new attraction opening, but one themed entirely around British cars.

The Great British Car Journey (GBCJ) is the brainchild of Richard Usher. If Richard's name is familiar to Veloce subscribers, it could be from his role as owner of Auto Windscreens, which he sold in 2001 to the RAC. If you're a track day fan, or take part in motorsports, you'll likely know him as the founder of Blyton Park circuit.

Richard has created an attraction with a unique aim: rather than showcasing the kind of rare and exotic cars that adorned the posters of our childhood bedrooms, GBCJ focusses on the everyday heroes that our Dads and Mums owned – the cars that heralded a revolution in personal transport worldwide. 

Situated in a former Derbyshire factory, Great British Car Journey has over 100 cars, spanning 100 years, and covering marques including Morris, Hillman, Austin, and Ford, to name a few. Each has been carefully chosen to illustrate how British-made cars changed the world for good, and among them you'll find gems such as the last ever MG Metro, and one of the 360 Morris Minor 'Millions,' of which an example of each was sent to every Morris dealer in the UK. 

For many of us, the cars at GBCJ stir memories of our childhoods, our first drives, and a myriad other personal milestones, and that’s the beauty of the GBCJ. These real-world workhorses are the stars, and their importance in the social and economic fabric of the UK and beyond, as well as the places in our hearts, is the cause of celebration. 

DO NOT TOUCH. Drive!

As with most attractions, the cars on display aren't for prodding or poking. But a unique – and brilliant – feature of GBCJ, is Drive Dad’s Car. Want to know what it felt like to drive your Dad’s Capri, or a Morris Minor Convertible? What about Mum's MG Midget, or your uncle's TR7, or even a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, or a Jaguar XJS? Well, now you can! From just £49, Drive Dad’s Car lets you drive a car from three collections; Classic, Premium, and Luxury, with over 30 models to choose from. Each car has a digital camera onboard, and you’ll be accompanied by an instructor – plus you get free entry to the GBCJ Experience. You can even buy 'bundles' that let you drive a selection of cars across categories.

The pandemic isn't over yet, but safety is paramount at the GBCJ, so you can still visit and enjoy the experience while staying safe (get all the details here). We can’t wait to make a visit ourselves, but in the meantime, book your Drive Dad's Car, and let us know what you think.

GBCJ has only been open for a short time, and we know it's already proving highly popular; we think this is one to watch, and we cannot wait to make a trip in person. We wish Richard and his team great success with the Experience, and we will, of course, be supporting Richard and the GBCJ as it cements its own place in British automotive history: in fact, you’ll very soon be able to choose from a great selection of Veloce books in the GBCJ shop, so you can drive the cars, then read all about their history and importance in British and world motoring.

The GBCJ is a fantastic idea, and we will be supporting Richard and all his team however we can. Even more books covering even more models and marques are planned, so don't be surprised to see them in the GBCJ shop – if you're planning a visit to this great attraction, you can pickup a great book while you're there!

The Great British Cars … of the Velocisti

Unsurprisingly, all this talk of great British cars has created a little reminiscing among the Velocisti, and you'll be even less surprised to hear that British cars feature prominently in our motoring histories. So how does the Velocisti's British Car Journeys stack-up? Let's hear from a few of them … I'll go first:

Kevin Atkins

My Dad didn't drive, so Mum's the word when it comes to my introduction to British cars and motoring. My mother's first car was pre-me (a 1963 Vauxhall Victor saloon with bench seats – still her favourite car). The first car on my radar, was Mum's Mk 1 Ford Cortina, in classic Lagoon and white livery, and with those wonderful 'Ban the Bomb' taillights, that for a '70s kid, were straight out of a science fiction comic. 

A fine example of a Mk1 Cortina, sci-fi taillights shown inset.

Technically, my own motoring adventures began with a 500cc Weslake speedway bike, which was a bit of a handful for an 11 year old,. My road and driving career began proper with a pale brown Morris Marina, purchased from my then-girlfriend's brother for a few hundred quid, and complete with a sports steering wheel. I drove it just twice, and there was a decade gap before my next car; an MG Metro, which was given to me by my then boss; a great little go-kart of a car, albeit with a tendency to occasionally lose its suspension on one side … but I can at least add an MG to my list of owned cars *ahem*.

Jude Brooks, Publisher

"I was gonna say that our first family car was a pale blue Ford Pop, and here’s a pic of us about to set off on our happy hols – only this obviously isn’t a pale blue Ford Pop: it's an Austin Somerset. 

Jude and family, posing with the pale blue Austin Somerset.

"It was this car that overturned when someone hit us – we had to crawl out of the windows! My own first car was a Hillman Imp – dark green – which overheated on a drive from Portsmouth to Yeovil, and my dad had to tow me from Salisbury."

Rod Grainger, Publisher

"My first British car (following several German BMW 3-wheeler Isettas) was a powder blue/rust brown 1959 Ford 100E which I welded back together using steel cut from a scrapped car’s roof! I then resprayed the car in two-tone royal blue and white.

 

Rod's 100E. 

"Performance from the tired 1172cc side-valve engine was pretty poor, but the car’s party-piece was a vacuum-driven wiper system: meaning the harder the engine was working the slower the wipers moved, almost stopping on steep hills!"

Matt Bassett 

"A Rover P6 3500. The spare tyre mounted on the boot when luggage space was needed. I remember a couple of holidays getting the train via Motorail, from Brokenhurst to Inverness, then driving around Sutherland and the Eastern Highlands, where the country roads weren’t so much tarmaced, but consisted of two strips of fur from from the many, many crushed rabbits. 

Rover P6 3500, ram skeleton NOT included.

"The car struggled with the gradients, so frequent stops because of overheating were needed. The highlight for the seven or eight year old me, was finding a ram’s skeleton that had been picked clean by ants, but I wasn’t allowed to keep the skull."

Emma Shanes

"The first car I bought was a Ford KA. I have a Vauxhall Adam now; I wanted a newer car, as my go-to mechanics (my Dad and my brother) would often be away racing (Editor: Emma's brother is motorcycle racer James Shane, #ShamelessNameDrop) and wouldn’t always be around should I have a problem. Plus it looked nice and I wanted cruise control after a long journey home one night, where I had to pull over because my ankle and foot were hurting. 

Ford KA – that's 'Kaa' not 'Kay-Ay', BTW.

"Before the Adam, I was insured to drive a one-mirrored, 4 speed 1989 Nissan Micra (called Poppy), so to be honest, all I wanted for my first car was a blue car that had 2 mirrors, a rev-counter (I was shocking at hill starts), and a CD player. I wasn’t fussy or anything!"  

Kevin Quinn

"My Dad never actually owned a car, but occasionally (very occasionally) he would borrow his brother’s. The first car I ever remember being in was my uncle’s Austin A35 (a tiny, cream-coloured thing). 

An Austin A35 – not-so-happy motoring memories.

"My overriding memory is being squeezed into the back seat next to my cousin, with my Dad and uncle in the front, windows steamed up, and feeling dreadfully car sick the whole journey, as it lurched, rattled and struggled to even move. Hated having to go anywhere in that thing."

Becky Martin

"My first car was a lovely yellow Vauxhall Viva with brown vinyl seats. I seem to remember lots of jokes about the ‘Yellow Peril.’ I bought it very cheaply from a friend of my uncle, while I was learning to drive, and although it wasn’t the prettiest of cars, it helped me get some experience and pass my test.

A Vauxhall Viva – not the 'Yellow Peril' Becky remembers, but close.
Photo credit: SG2012, CC BY 2.0.

"It didn’t last long though – it broke down in the middle of nowhere late one night, and I had to hitch a ride to a phone box to call out someone to rescue me (pre-mobile phone days!)."

Becky's current daily driver … usually.

It seems Becky may have form in this respect; she currently enjoys driving an MGB GT … which has just broken down with a fuel pump issue. Perhaps a copy of Your expert guide to MGB & MGB GT problems and how to fix them will help?

A different kind of family album

Whilst all of us here have strong memories of our childhood car experiences, finding photos of the actual cars our families owned is tricky. Fortunately, we have a 'family album' of a different kind, in the shape of our current and back-catalogue, so we took photos from some of our British marque books.

The perfect books for British car nerds.

The colours and trim may vary a bit, but these are essentially the cars we recognise from our own personal great British car journeys. With books like our A Pictorial History series, or The Cars of the BMC (coming soon) to name just a few, finding the model was surprisingly easy …

… although …

Whilst our catalogue covers dozens of marques and hundreds of models, it still has a few gaps that we'd love to fill. One such gap is Vauxhall, another great British marque. If you have next-level knowledge of Vauxhall cars, or know someone who does, and think you can author a book on the subject – whether it's a buyer's guide, a marque history, or something else entirely – get in touch to discuss. Email us at writeforus@veloce.co.uk and tell us your idea; we'll take a look, and you could see your book in print with Veloce!

The Oliver Winterbottom Diaries – Hinckley Classic Show

If you have been following our blog recently, you will be aware that Oliver Winterbottom has been gearing-up to make an appearance at this year's Hinckley Classic Show. To say the event was a roaring success would be an understatement, and Oliver documented his time there, which we now share with you. 

Hinkley, Leicestershire, is a town dating from the earliest times and which was the centre of hosiery manufacturing until recently. As that industry shrank, Hinckley started to decline, but thanks to the efforts of the Business Improvement Development and a team of local volunteers, much is being done to reinvigorate the town. I am sure many would not expect it to have the remains of a medieval castle, a fine parish church standing in parkland, and a traditional Market Square (traditional, as all the Market Squares that I know, are triangular).

Thus it was that I arrived at Hinckley Market Square on the morning of 16 September. There were 800 plus vehicles also filling the town centre, all interesting. Two Lotus Elites graced the middle of the area, with the organisers' gazebo alongside. It was here I set-up to supply and sign my book, A Life in Car Design, to those that requested it. The Steward, Stuart Elliott had cleverly arranged them as the Elites were a past design of mine. It was Stuart who got me into this in the first place!

As my sister lives near Hinckley, I visit her and her local pub, The Heathcote Arms, Croft. Stuart and Sue Elliott also visit occasionally and earlier this year we discussed my presence at the Classic Motorshow. I agreed to bring some of my books, a pen and a cheery smile – not sure about that – and support this massive event. It is possibly the largest town Classic show in the country. In advance, I had contacted various clubs, and Stuart had landlady Hannah's permission to post a poster in the back bar. To the left, myself and poster in The Heathcote Arms.

Many folk assisted me being able to be ready. These included Emma and Kevin Atkins at my publishers Veloce, who not only supplied some books but also a large poster. 

Stuart organised my transport via an original Mini 1000, driven with enthusiasm by Rob Milne, an enthusiastic member of the Leicester Sturgess motor business. 

I had huge moral support from the members of the LotusExcel.net club, with Richard Wollaston bringing his Lotus Elite, resplendent with an emblem incorporating my signature. Embarrassed to proud – well a bit of both!

Another vehicle that was part of my past was the "wedge" TVR and I was happy that Andy Hutcheson ("andytank") had passed on details at the annual meeting, so we had one of those cars present. Unfortunately it was not possible to completely take over Hinckley, so they were parked down streets nearby.

The other members of my book title trio, Jaguar, were surprisingly short in supply. A red E-Type convertible was a couple of car spaces beyond the Lotuses. 

For me, what made the event so interesting was the diversity of the exhibits. They were not parked as a group but scattered around, so one went from say, a Ferrari, to a Triumph TR7 to an Austin 7 to a DeLorean. There were many forms of transport, the steam roller winning Special Vehicle of the show! Prizes were awarded for scooters, motorcycles, classic cars and commercial vehicles. There were pre-war and post-war machines, stock cars, modified saloons, American cars – you name it, it was probably there. As were an awful lot of people!

All the pubs and cafes were open and doing a roaring trade all day as literally thousands of people strolled the streets – all free of charge – enjoying the day. 

My pitch on Hinckley Market Square, alongside a lovely Lotus Elite

The two Lotuses, with the gazebo behind

A TVR 350i enjoying the double yellow lines in Regent Street

This beautiful Rover 3.5 litre Coupé was brought by Coventry Transport Museum

Not only did we have a DeLorean, but also an ex-senior executive of the marque present. The bar across the door opening was to prevent unwanted passengers entering!

This Ford Mustang dated from 1971 – they still look the same!

The two Lotus Elites had an Excel for company. There was also an Eclat elsewhere

Here I am being interviewed live on local radio

Sue and Stuart Elliott on the left, receiving a much deserved award in recognition of their efforts organising this wonderful event

We all retired to the Heathcote for a well deserved pint after a wonderful day. Hinckley hopefully will continue to thrive – it deserves to!

You can purchase your own copy of A Life in Car Design here, and make sure to keep checking the Veloce blog for the next instalment of Winterbottom's diary!

Great Scott! Look at our new release!

We have a number of new Essential Buyer's Guides out this month, including the Range Rover First Generation, Mercedes Benz W123 and Mercedes Benz 190, but one in particular can be linked to an iconic movie ... 

Of course, I'm talking about the DeLorean DMC-12! The only model ever made by the DeLorean company, roughly 9000 DMC-12s were manufacturered between 1981 and 1983. Featuring a number of unusual construction details, such as gull-wing doors, a rear-mounted engine and unpainted, stainless-steel body panels, this car, though made in Ireland, was intended primarily for the US car market – though a small number were later converted post-production to be right-hand-drive, so they could be sold in other parts of the world. 

As of 2007, there were thought to be around 6500 left, and if you fancy trying to obtain one for yourself, Chris Williams' Essential Buyer's Guide is the perfect tool to help you get the best possible DMC-12 for the best possible price! Packed with good advice on everything you need to know when purchasing a second-hand DeLorean, from running costs, paperwork, vital statistics and valuation, to information on the DeLorean community, this is the complete guide to choosing, assessing, and buying the DeLorean of your dreams. 

"The way I see it, if you're going to build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?" – Doc Brown, Back To The Future, 1985.

Now, I may not have grown up in the '80s, but I love the Back To The Future film series! Though their prediction of the year 2015 wasn't exactly what we experienced, these films are still classics, and that is in part down to the futuristic car that made time travel possible!

As the most anticipated car of the decade, the DeLorean was gaining a lot of media attention, and teamed with its sleek, futuristic silver look, it seemed the obvious choice for Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale to have the car as the star in their time travel film.

Three models were purchased for modification, for each film in the trilogy, with a complete fibreglass replica being built for the flying scenes in Back To The Future Part II. Of these nine in total, only three survive: the original one can be seen at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angles, California; the remaining two are owned by Universal Studios, with one on display in their Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Florida.

Now, I've got a couple of behind-the-scenes mechanical facts about these iconic cars. The DeLoreans used in filming retained their original V6 engines, however the sound effects artists changed the sound in post-production to the sound of a Porsche 928 V8 engine. For the American West scenes seen in Back To The Future Part III, two DeLoreans were fitted with a special dune buggy chassis, and high performance Volkswagen engines, in order to help the cars navigate the Western terrain with ease.

Whether you want to fulfil your dream of owning a time machine – in style, not in essence! – or you just always fancied owning a rare and iconic car, then you need to get a copy of Chris Williams' guide to help you find the right DeLorean! This book, and many other Essential Buyer's Guides, are available to buy from our online store now. – Siân

70 years of the Land Rover

At the beginning of the year, we posted a blog listing all the major automotive anniversaries and celebrations that will be taking place over the course of 2018. However, there was one glaringly obvious one missing from the line up, and that's because we were saving it for its own, dedicated post ...

Of course, I'm talking about the 70th anniversary of the Land Rover! First launched at the Amsterdam motor show back in April 1948, the Series I Land Rover was created for no other reason than to provide a stop-gap model to aide sales in the post-war years. This vehicle was first intended to be just for agricultural purposes, and had a box section steel chassis, and aluminium body work – there was an abundance of aluminium surplus from aircraft manufacturing after the war. Over the years, the Land Rover has developed to become so much more than a farmer's mode of transport, becoming a mainstay for the British Army and utilised by a number of different services, from the Police force to the National Trust. Nowadays, there is a whole range of Land Rovers available, such as the Defender, Discovery, Freelander, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Range Rover Evoque. They are just as popular with the rich and famous as they are with your average country farmer – even the Duchess of Cambridge drives a Range Rover!

We have a number of books due to be released over the course of the year to help mark this landmark occasion, but the stand out book has got to be Land Rover Design – 70 years of success. Written by Nick Hull, author of Ford Design in the UK – 70 years of success – this book details the personalities involved in the various projects from the late 1940s up to today: the designers, modellers and studio engineers. It charts the development of Land Rover and Range Rover projects in the UK, particularly those designed in the Gaydon studio that opened in 1996, and is still a key part of Jaguar Land Rover's design resource. From the early days of chalk drawings and wooden models to today's digital renderings and milled clay for the latest Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover's designers and technicians have never been short of creativity. This book tells their story, in their own words, and is a fitting tribute to the spirit and ethos of Land Rover design and engineering.

To coincide with the marque's platinum anniversary, Land Rover are set to unveil a limited-edition high-performance version of the iconic Defender, with up to 150 V8-powered examples re-engineered.

The Defender Works V8 pays homage to the early high-powered engines in both the Series III Stage 1 V8 from 1979, and subsequent Defenders, including the 50th Anniversary Edition, which are highly sought after by enthusiasts and
collectors today. Defender Works V8 is the most powerful and fastest version that Land Rover has ever created. The 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated petrol V8 powertrain produces 405PS and 515Nm of torque (the standard Defender delivered 122PS and 360Nm). The Defender Works V8 will accelerated from 0-60mph in 5.6 seconds, while top speed is increased to 106mph.

Tim Hannig, Jaguar Land Rover Classics Director, said: "It's fitting that we've been able to release the full potential of the iconic Defender, whose much-loved shape remains synonymous with Land Rover, 70 years since is was seen in public for the first time. The idea of reintroducing a V8 Defender was something we were discussing as far back as 2014, when we were still building the Defender in Solihull. We knew the demand was there for a powerful and fast Defender; the Land Rover authenticity is the ultimate finishing touch for discerning clients purchasing these collector's edition Defenders."

The V8 powertrain will be fitted to 150 specially-selected and re-engineered Defenders for the 70th Edition, complemented by an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission with sport mode, uprated brakes, and handling kit (springs, dampers and anti-roll bars), plus exclusive 18-inch diamond-turned Sawtooth alloy wheels and 265/65 R18 all-terrain tyres. Eight standard body colours include two satin finishes – contrasting with Santorini Black roof, wheel arches and front grille – finished with machined aluminium door handles, fuel filler cap and Defender bonnet lettering. A comprehensive lighting upgrade includes bi-LED headlamps. Full Windsor Leather interior trim covers the dashboard, door panels, headlining and Recaro sports seats. Land Rover Classic's own Classic Infotainment System is also fitted. Both 90 and 110 wheelbase Defender Works V8 derivatives will be available to purchase soon from Land Rover Classic, including power upgrades for the TDCi diesel, fast-raid suspension, and braking kits.

There are a number of events that will be taking place, hosted by Land Rover and other motoring organisations, in order to celebrate 70 years of the marque. First on Land Rover's calendar is a unique restoration project, featuring one of the original launch vehicles from the 1940s!

For years the whereabouts of this particular launch car was a mystery. Last on the road in the 1960s, it went on to spend 20 years in a Welsh field, before being brought with every intention of a restoration that never happened. Having spent a fair amount of time sitting dilapidated in someone's garden, it turned up just a few miles outside of Solihull, where the Land Rover was first built – what a surprise to find it had made its way back home!

Image courtesy of Land Rover

The team at Jaguar Land Rover Classic will follow a dedicated process to restore the launch vehicle, which has lots of special features that are unique to the 48 pre-production Land Rovers that were made prior to the mass production run, which includes thicker aluminium body panels, a galvanised chassis and a removable rear tub. The patina of its components will be preserved, including the original Light Green paint applied in 1948.

Come summer time, this year's Classic & Supercars Show will have the Land Rover's 70th anniversary as the main focus of the event. Taking place on the 15th of July, this prestigious charity event will pay homage to this iconic piece of British history.

"Land Rovers, for me, signify the best of British and I'm looking forward to seeing the range from 1948 Series I to the very latest Range Rovers all on display," says Classic & Supercars Show Chairman, Nigel Young.

Needless to say, there will be plenty to keep Land Rover fans entertained over the course of 2018! And I'm sure we will be posting much more about this iconic marque through the year, so keep an eye out on our blog, Facebook, Twitter and On The Grid newsletter!

Here yesteryear, gone tomorrow ...

Now, I'm a 90's kid, so it's nice to see a resurgence of things that I grew up with, such as Blind Date, Nokia reissues, and of course, the revival of the much loved Tamagotchi. It's a shame that the same cannot be said for the cars of this, which are heading the same way as the dinosaurs from that famous 1993 film... 

New research from Honest John Classics shows that the cars we grew up with, that our mums and dads drove us around in, are dying out. To give you an idea, 2613 Rover 400s were taken off the road in 2016 – that's just over a fifth of the total number left. At this rate of decreased use, they will all be gone in five years.

It's a similar story for the Vauxhall Cavalier and the Citroen Saxo. Once beloved of sales reps everywhere, just over 10% of 1990s Cavaliers have been scrapped. While the Saxo, which defined modified motoring for the Max Power generation saw 2505 destroyed – almost a quarter of the total left!

Not even the youngest cars from the 'dot-com' decade are safe. The Ford Focus changed car design forever when it was launched in 1998, but examples are vanishing at the rate of 25% a year – meaning, if they continue to disappear at the current rate, there will be no 1990s Mk1 Focuses left in just four years. It's a similar story for the Ford KA, with 29% of examples disappearing every 12 months.

"Many people think of a classic car as an MGB or and E-type Jag, but the reality is that there's a huge amount of interest in cars from the 1990s. I'm not talking about the supercars that adorned posters on bedroom walls, I'm thinking about the cars that we grew up with. The cars that our dads had – that took us to school, to the cinema, on holiday. These cars were part of our lives every single day – and now they're nearly all gone," said editor of Honest John Classics, Keith Moody.

"The startling survival rates of the cars that you used to see on every street and at every service station means that demand for them is starting to outstrip supply. And while we've seen a lot of 1990s nostalgia in the past few years, with everything from Britpop to Blind Date making a comeback, it's shocking that the cars from this decade in automotive history are on the brink of extinction."

But why are many of the cars our dads used to drive on the endangered species' list? There are several reasons, but one of the biggest is that 2009-10 scrapage scheme. Here, the Government encouraged people to trade-in cars more than ten years old for £2000 off a new car – a discount that you could've got by haggling. In total, 392,227 future classics were taken off the road because of the scrapage scheme.

When does a car become a classic?

While some turn their nose up at 1990s 'bangers', such as the Ford Mondeo and the Vauxhall Cavalier, by saying that they will never be proper classics, research from Honest John Classics shows this simply isn't the case.

Honest John researchers looked at the most recent MoT data to find out when a car made the transformation from cheap runabout to cherished family member. Analysing the data, they were able to see when the rate of cars failing their annual roadworthiness test stopped declining and started to rise again. 

"This is the point at which a car crosses over from a banger that gets run into the ground to something that is appreciated and that the owner wants to invest both time and money in. This is the decisive moment – this is the point where values stop falling and prices start rising," says Keith Moody. 

Currently, cars from the year 2000 have the worst MoT pass rate with just over half failing. After this point, the figure improves for older cars as they find their way into he hands of enthusiastic owners. In fact, cars from 1993 have a better pass rate than cars from 2005, with 56.5% passing the annual roadworthiness test compared to 55.3%. A fact that underlines 1990s cars as emerging classics.

"Petrolheads in their 30s and 40s grew up with these 1990s cars. They learnt to drive in them. They went on family holidays in them. They are the next-generation of classic cars – and they're being bought by enthusiasts who want to be reminded of their connection to times, people, and places who might no longer be with them," adds Keith Moody.

The best selling cars from 25 years ago

A quarter of a century ago, the Mk5 Ford Escort was Britain's best-selling car. It sold 122,002 units that year – but now there are just about 460 of those left on the road. That's a survival rate of 0.37%. It's a similar story with the Mk3 Fiesta, which was second in the best-sellers list with 110,449 finding new homes in 1993. Now just 435 of those are still on the road – a survival rate of 0.39%. In fact, non of the best selling cars from 1993 have a survival rate of more than 1% – that means 99% have been crushed.

Maybe it's time to do your bit for the classic car scene of the future, and start nurturing these soon-to-be-forgotten models! And if any of you want to try your hand at writing an Essential Buyer's Guide to one of these future classics, then get in touch, as we'd love to do our bit to help preserve classic cars! – Siân