Classic Car Mart February 2022

Welcome… Little wins It’s traditional in the publishing industry for magazine cover dates and printing schedules to be some way adrift of each other, which explains why you might be holding the February issue of CCM but it was put together at the end of 2021. As a result, writing this on December 23 I can only hope that you’re not reading this during another lockdown and if you are, then hopefully you have a few old car-related projects to stave off cabin fever. Personally I was rather hoping that since the Covid variants all seem to be named after Lancias that it would eventually bail out of the UK and by the time we were on the Kappa variant it would be largely unknown here, so let’s hope. Regular…

Little wins It’s traditional in the publishing industry for magazine cover dates and printing schedules to be some way adrift of each other, which explains why you might be holding the February issue of CCM but it was put together at the end of 2021. As a result, writing this on December 23 I can only hope that you’re not reading this during another lockdown and if you are, then hopefully you have a few old car-related projects to stave off cabin fever. Personally I was rather hoping that since the Covid variants all seem to be named after Lancias that it would eventually bail out of the UK and by the time we were on the Kappa variant it would be largely unknown here, so let’s hope. Regular readers will remember that…

PLUGS&LEADS THE INDUSTRY’S CLASSIC TIPS FOR 2022 The pandemic has turned many things on their head, not least the classic car market. The so-called ‘market correction’ of a few years ago that saw values soften was replaced by a sharp rise in prices, no doubt fuelled by many people having little else to spend their money on. However, that doesn't mean the notion of a good buy has come to an end, as emphasised by the industry experts we questioned on their hot tips for 2022. Understandably, the modern classic arena is most commonly tipped for expansion. As our market review of 2021 (from page 16) reveals, 2021 has already seen a continued increase in popularity for such vehicles almost entirely across the board. Vehicles from the roughly the late…

The pandemic has turned many things on their head, not least the classic car market. The so-called ‘market correction’ of a few years ago that saw values soften was replaced by a sharp rise in prices, no doubt fuelled by many people having little else to spend their money on. However, that doesn't mean the notion of a good buy has come to an end, as emphasised by the industry experts we questioned on their hot tips for 2022. Understandably, the modern classic arena is most commonly tipped for expansion. As our market review of 2021 (from page 16) reveals, 2021 has already seen a continued increase in popularity for such vehicles almost entirely across the board. Vehicles from the roughly the late ’70s onwards have been strong performers, while earlier,…

The name might not be so familiar outside VW circles but the car we know as the booted version of the ’80s Passat was also responsible for getting VW Group’s foot in the door of the Chinese car market – the first German maker to do so. Local manufacture of the Santana by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive, a joint venture between VW and STAC (predecessor of current MG owner SAIC) began in 1985 and since then over six million have been produced. The Santana quickly became a symbol of China’s emerging middle classes and continued in China long after it had disappeared from Europe, with a third generation even being designed locally. The car is currently in a fifth generation but VW has announced that the car won’t be replaced, citing changes in…

SANTANA AXED The name might not be so familiar outside VW circles but the car we know as the booted version of the ’80s Passat was also responsible for getting VW Group’s foot in the door of the Chinese car market – the first German maker to do so. Local manufacture of the Santana by Shanghai Volkswagen Automotive, a joint venture between VW and STAC (predecessor of current MG owner SAIC) began in 1985 and since then over six million have been produced. The Santana quickly became a symbol of China’s emerging middle classes and continued in China long after it had disappeared from Europe, with a third generation even being designed locally. The car is currently in a fifth generation but VW has announced that the car won’t be…