*RETRO‑MOTORING

 

Monday, July 24, 2006

North West Classic Car Show - Southport

Not a bad event! Some fascinating machinery, a bit too many "moderns" though IMO. Photos are here!

STA70659-1

STA70520-1

STA70600-1



Friday, July 21, 2006

Help two fools raise some money for Charity!

Yes, one of them IS me.

We're doing the Czech Wrecks Rally in September and we're trying to raise as much as we can for the Cardiomyopathy Association! Please have a read and keep checking for updates!



Thursday, July 06, 2006

Classic and Retro Show, Santa Pod

OH BOY!

The highlight of the year for any retro-car lover. Absolutely stacks and stacks of fascinating machinery, and some brilliant racing down the drag strip.

We Retro-riders had MASSIVE presence, by far the biggest stand of the whole show.

Click for the full gallery!





Tuesday, July 04, 2006

I have never seen: #1 Talbot Tagora (1981-1983).

The first in a series of ramblings about cars I have never, EVER seen in real life but would love to. Not rare race cars, not supercars and not stuff we didn't see in the UK. These posts are dedicated to ordinary cars that roamed the streets in the retro-era yet have somehow eluded my eyes. Maybe I'll see one at a show, maybe I'll spot one lurking in a driveway somewhere. Who knows?

Number 1: The Talbot Tagora.

A Tagora.


A big, bland, boxy, forgettable "executive" saloon from Talbot. An utter disaster for the company, they sold so badly that production stopped after two years. Who can be surprised? Looks like a scaled-up Solara and zero road presence. Not ideal for a company exec looking to make himself seen in a world of Granadas and Rover SD1s. The only interesting styling features are the squared-off arches. The interior is utterly dull, vast expanses of plastic and flimsy controls.

There were three main versions, a 2.2, 2.3 diesel and 2.6 V6.

If I'm going to see one, I want it to be the V6, just under 1100 were made. I bet there are less than a handful left! 19,400 Tagoras were made in total, Chrysler were hoping to shift three times that many in a year. No wonder I have never seen one, nobody bought them.

Not a bad car, just not good enough against the competition at the time.


VW Expo

Another good one! I had never been before, it's a fair old trek to Kent from up here in the sunny North West. Well worth it, a great collection of dubs on show and a great location.

Click for gallery.