Showing posts with label British Vintage Car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British Vintage Car. Show all posts

Sunday, 16 January 2011

UK’s motor vanity fair (20) [Bâlciul deşertăciunilor cu motor din UK]

Enthusiats consider it a ‘British miracle’ and it must have been so, in 1948, when this economy car took to the British roads. Eventually, as “video killed the radio star,” so was this car of a slower-paced age killed by cars more suitable to the current maddeing faster times.

The ‘miracle’ only lasted up to 1958, when production stopped, although commercial variants kept being produced until 1971. A Total of 1,6 Morris Minor vehicles were build, but I don’t think that more than a few thousands are still in circulation.

Thanks to my reader C.L., I can add these lovely pictures of a Morris Minor to those that I took myself, and which illustrate the first episode of this series. They are glimpses of mid-20 century Britain, and offer a good example of British craftsmanship.

In the popular imagination the Morris Minor is the car of schoolmasters, district nurses, midwives, openly Anglican vicars, helpful rural grocers and men wearing hats who are, generally, not in a hurry.

If the staid institution of English afternoon tea were motorised, it would look like this. The Minor is a symbol of a gracious England unspoiled by sodium lights, bypasses, tower blocks, KFC and greedy consumerism.

This England was a fable maybe, but fables are often more interesting than facts.” – this is how The Daily Telegraph praises the car pictured here, often seen as ‘quintesentially English’ or ‘typifying Englishness’.

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

Tuesday, 23 September 2008

UK’s motor vanity fair (6) [Bâlciul deşertăciunilor cu motor din UK]

I wish I saw many other cars like these on the British roads, apart from the two illustrating this post, as I guess I’ve always been somekind of fan of this type of vehicules. Unfortunaly, they seemed to be as rare as ARO IMS cars have become on Romanian roads. Is it because the Brits are ashamed that their ‘national icon’ was bought buy the Indians from Tata Motors?

Anyway, owning a Land Rover and driving it through the Scottish Highlands, in the Australian outback, throughout the plains of East Africa or the Namibian desert wouldn’t have been a proof of vainly investing in a car. I guess that, at the time, it was one of the wisest and most useful investments one could make.

Maybe it’s just the end of an era, and they simply don’t make cars like these. Buying petrol or diesel for these monsters is just too expensive, yet they were incredibly reliable. It is estimated that 75% of all Land Rovers ever produced are still in use today. I wonder how many of the first 914 original ARO IMS vehicles, hancrafted from 1957 to 1959 are still functioning?

Sadly, the fact that I saw so few cars like thise on Brit soil doesn’t leave for me any better comment than saying sic transit gloria mundi...

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]

Friday, 18 April 2008

UK's motor vanity fair (1) [Bâlciul deşertăciunilor cu motor din UK]

Any attempt to describe life in the UK could no longer avoid saying something about the cars the Brits drive. Since I’m neither a fan of motor sports, nor a driving ace, I thought it would be better for me to show images of cars seen in Britain, and not comment too much on something I am not an expert at. However, I could dare drawing attention to what seemed to me worth sharing with others.

To my own surprise (and to those of my readers who know I am not at all passionate with cars), I really took notice of some interesting things throughout this country, and I have hundreds of pictures (probably for at least 25 episodes apart from this inaugural one) to prove it.

For the first episode, I chose a Morris car. I don’t know much about this now defunct Morris Motor Company, neither does this brand seem to have a network of fans with a remarkable online visibility (only a little bit here or here) – but the vehicle looks great!

[For all the episodes of this series, and all the posts on this blog go to/Pentru toate episoadele din această serie şi toate postările de pe acest blog mergi la: Contents/Cuprins]