The Ford Taunus TC

Up until the late 1960s the American Ford company had two quite separate European divisions - Ford of Germany and Ford of Britain. In much the same way as General Motors had with Vauxhall and Opel, they both had different, competing ranges of models with no shared parts.

In 1967 Ford USA merged the two to create Ford of Europe. The first product of co-operation was actually launched two years earlier in the shape of the Transit - replacing the UK Ford Thames and the European Taunus Transit. The Mk1 Escort followed, and then the Capri.

The next co-developed product saw a differentiation between the UK and European variants, with the Ford Cortina Mk3 and the Taunus TC ("Taunus/Cortina"). Both had the same underpinnings and basic body structures but whereas the UK Cortina had very American "coke bottle" curves to the body lines the European Taunus TC was much more square-edged and restrained. Despite looking quite similar at a quick glance they are very different when studied in detail.

The Europeans got a lovely Coupe variant which was never translated into a Cortina, a great shame in my opinion.

The styling differences didn't make it through to the facelifted replacements as the Taunus TC2 / Cortina Mk4 looked identical.

If you're a classic Ford fan, or are looking for gift ideas for a retro Ford enthusiast then have a look in my shop where I have a range of present ideas available for sale!

Road Rallying - how things have changed!

Back when I was heavily in to Road Rallying, 20 years ago (blimey, where does the time go?!), the entry list was usually full of rear wheel drive Fords and Opels - Mk2 Escorts, Mantas, Asconas, that sort of thing - but as their increasing age and competition desirability has taken toll on the number of cheaply available ones around it's not surprising that budget entry-level rallying is filled nowadays with FWD hatches like the Peugeot 306 and Ford Puma.

I went along to a novice Road Rally in North Wales last weekend and it was quite an eye-opener, just one solitary Mk2 Escort (a four door, too), and an almost-too-clean Mk1. How times have changed!

I bet the more modern machinery is just as competitive though, if not as sideways. Pretty much the only cheap RWD car that's new enough to be around in significant numbers is the BMW Compact, which had strong representation, not least from my Brother competing in his.

My gallery of pictures from the start of the event is here.

1955 Triumph TR2

The TR2 was manufactured between August 1953 and October 1955. 8628 were made and of those 5805 were exported abroad.

The TR2 was originally sold for £864 16s 6d and a good car will now fetch in the region of £12,000.

The factory records show that this particular car was manufactured on Thursday 9th June 1955 between 4-4:30pm. There have been 4 recorded owners. The last registered owner started restoration of the car and the current owner, who bought the car on 17th April 2003, got it roadworthy on 15th August 2003. Since then it has been displayed at a number of shows and been used on a large number of runs in the UK and France.

If you're a Triumph fan, or know someone who is a Triumph enthusiast, then why not check out my Triumph gift and present ideas in my shop. If you're interested in something for the TR3, TR4, TR5, TR6, TR7, Dolomite, Toledo, Spitfire, 1300, GT6 , Herald, Vitesse, 2000 or any of the other models then have a look!

Alan Mann - 1936-2012

I'm saddened to hear of the death of Alan Mann, one of the legendary names of 1960s motorsport history. The red and gold colouring of his team cars is timeless. I offer my condolences to his family and friends. I hope to see more of his Son, Henry, racing in the future.