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Welcome to Lancaster Insurance News
Keep up to date with the latest news and events from the world of classic cars.
40 YEARS OF COMPULSORY SEAT BELT WEARING
- 31st January, 2023
Forty years ago today, the BBC broadcast this footage of motorists remembering – or not – to obey the new seat belt regulations.
VAUXHALL’S FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT ESTATE CAR
- 31st January, 2023
One of the many joys of watching Talking Pictures Television is spotting various cars that are now less frequently encountered than Halley’s Comet. Calculated Risk is a rather good 1963 B-film, and the final reel boasts a guest appearance from a Victor F-Type Estate.
60 Years of the Humber Sceptre by Andrew Roberts
- 27th January, 2023
On the 15th of January 1963, the Rootes Group made bold claims about their latest Humber. “Never before has there been a car so superbly equipped… with such performance… at so modest a price”.
Introducing our January Bright Young Spark – Katie Bushell
- 27th January, 2023
Our friends at Practical Classics magazine caught up with Katie Bushell a true mechanic, enthusiast, YouTuber and Bright Spark.
Staff Car Story - Triumph after Disaster: how a £30 engine saved my motor! By Steph Hoy
- 27th January, 2023
Classic car owners are supposed to be the more sensible people in the car community. We aren’t the ones doing burn outs, madcap speedy adventures and taking the risks some of the pluckier members of the car community seem to take.
Car Club Corner: Is a Triumph Toledo worth the investment?
- 27th January, 2023
Simply put… yes! The Triumph Toledo is the 70s saloon worth investing in for 2023. In a world of rising costs for 60s and 70s classics, the Triumph Toledo is the classic car which has quietly not budged too far out of the savvy buyer’s budget in the last few years.
Leylandprincess.co.uk seeks new staff to avoid closure
- 27th January, 2023
President and treasurer call it a day after 20 years; club could close if replacements not found. Britain’s largest club for the Austin-Morris-Wolseley 18-22 Series, Leyland Princess and Austin Ambassador, Leylandprincess.co.uk, needs your help.
A second set of eyes can save lives
- 27th January, 2023
Lancaster Insurance Services urges owners to ensure their classic is checked annually by an independent expert. The discussion of MOTs is once again in the spotlight with the announcement that a consultation has been launched into whether new cars may be exempt from needing an MOT for the first four years, an extension of a year from the current rules.
SADLY MISSED - THE LITTLE CHEF
- 23rd January, 2023
In 2017, a friend and I visited a Cambridgeshire branch of Little Chef to ask permission to stage a photo shoot in their car park. After two minutes, it became evident we could have produced a re-enactment of The Wicker Man outside their front door, and no one would have cared.
THE TVR VIXEN S1 – A CELEBRATION
- 20th January, 2023
A long time ago, in the year when Brotherhood of Man won the Eurovision Song Contest, I encountered a fascinating two-seater coupe in the village garage. Most of the time, the front yard seemed to contain a familiar array of decaying Singer Vogues and Vauxhall Viva HAs, so this was an entirely different form of car.
THE LOTUS CORTINA AT 60
- 20th January, 2023
The Daily Telegraph noted that it was the fastest car yet marketed by Ford GB. Autocar warned that using it for domestic purposes was akin to “putting a spirited hunter into the shafts of a coal cart”.
MEET THE OWNER – GARY WATERFALL AND HIS MORRIS ITAL 1.3L
- 20th January, 2023
A few months ago, Gary Waterfall acquired a very rare British Leyland product of the early 1980s – “I sold an Escort Cosworth after owning Ford RSs for nearly 30 years and bought the Ital: I love it”.
TOP FIVE WOULD-BE CARS OF THE YEAR
- 17th January, 2023
As the Jeep Avenger was recently declared Car of the Year 2023, what better opportunity to consider five highly significant models that still never achieved that COTY accolade - 1965 – Winner: Austin 1800.
MEET THE OWNER – AIDAN SANDERSON AND HIS PEUGEOT 205
- 10th January, 2023
It is a major shock to realise that the 205 will celebrate its 40th birthday in 2023. That Gérard Welter styling still looks up-to-date, and it is hard to believe the early models were contemporaries of the Morris Ital.
