British International Motor Show – oldies

It wasn’t just new cars at the motor show; there was the heritage pavilion, located outside and feeling a little like an afterthought. The choice of cars was superb but I think I’ll let the pictures do the talking.



Next to the heritage pavilion was a display of AA vehicles through the ages. My eye was caught particularly by the Morris Ital van. There can’t be many Itals of any sort left so it is quite nice to see one that looks cared for and it certainly isn’t the sort of thing you’d expect to see at a show for new cars.

Inside, I noticed but didn’t photograph a fine looking Mercedes-Benz 300SL gullwing and a certain internet magazine had a scrappy-looking mk3 Austin Allegro as “the worst car ever” on their stand. Frankly I think there are many worse cars than the “All Aggro” and it just demonstrates a lack of imagination on the part of whoever chose it.

Volvo celebrates 80 years

At the 2007 Classic Motor Show this weekend (9th – 11th November, Birmingham’s NEC) Volvo will celebrate its 80th anniversary with a display of historic vehicles. In recent times Volvo has made a great effort to (successfully, I think) shake off its rather stuffy image. For years the square-rigged 144, 240 and 740 models provided safe, sensible transport for smug middle-class families. But now Volvos manage to be both safe and stylish. To emphasise a tradition of stylish the emphasis is on convertible models:

Volvo PV655 Norrmalm drophead coupe 1933 ­– A magnificent one-off, generally considered to be the world’s most beautiful Volvo.
Volvo 445 Valbo convertible 1953 – Built on the 445 light truck chassis, this is one of five survivors out of 10 originally built.
Volvo Sport 1956 – Often referred to as the P1900 this nice sportscar with its original plastic body carries chassis number 1.
Volvo 122S Amazon Coune convertible 1963 – The only rolling example of the five open Amazons built by Belgian carrossier Jacques Coune.
Volvo 480 convertible prototype 1990 – One of the two prototypes built by Volvo Car B.V. as design and feasibility studies.
Volvo C70 T5 convertible 2008 – The current open top Volvo in the model range is offered with a broad range of engine alternatives.

I’ve got my ticket to the Classic Motor Shows and I’m looking forward to it this year.