Classic American

The first heat of the Kingstown Shipping Car of the Year contest was held at this year’s inaugural show, Wheels Day, which was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid. And boy, was it back with a bang! Sunny, hot weather and a field full of cars – and even more public – made for a busy event. Likewise, after an absence of two years because of ‘you know what’, Car of the Year is back for 2022, bigger and brighter than ever thanks to sponsorship from Kingstown Shipping. With such a packed field of cars, it was going to be tough to pick one car as the first candidate in this year’s series; however, we found an absolute cracker in the form of this magnificent 1972 Buick Riviera,…

Over the coming months we’ll be at the biggest and best American car events all over the UK picking more heat winners for the grand final on the Classic American stand at the NEC this autumn. Heat winners get a prestigious brass trophy, £200 prize money and are invited to bring their car down to display on the Classic American stand at the Classic Motor Show held at Birmingham’s NEC over the weekend of November 11-13. Over the weekend the cars are judged, usually by independent judges, and one overall champion is picked, winning a cheque for £500 and a prestigious trophy, plus their car will feature on the front cover of February’s issue. Further heats will be held at the following shows: June 19: Beaulieu Hot Rod and Custom,…

The clocks are ticking to Classic American’s very own show, the Stars & Stripes Show, held over the weekend of July 2 and 3 in the beautiful grounds of Tatton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire. Now in its fifth year under the management/ ownership of Classic American’s parent company Mortons, the Stars & Stripes has become a must-do event for any American car enthusiast in the UK and is easily reached by motorway from all over Britain. As in previous years, attractions include just about every type of American vehicle imaginable, from pick-ups to hot rods, customs, military vehicles, big rigs, Harley-Davidsons… even Airstreams. There’ll also be traders aplenty, including some familiar names from Classic American, including Kingstown Shipping, North Hants Tyres and many, many more, so make sure you pay them all…

From time to time, cars that have appeared in Classic American come up for sale. This stunning ’63 Falcon featured in our May 2017/#313 issue and is now being sold by owner Lou Lusardi. We asked him for a few words on the car and this is what he had to say: “Assembled in the San Jose Ford plant in California in April 1963, this Falcon Sprint was delivered to a doctor in Springfield, Oregon. The good doctor ordered the car in Corinthian white with black interior and also specified almost every available extra, including automatic transmission, power steering, radio, interior mats, dome light and the now very rare dashboard clock. “After a couple of years the car was purchased by a collector in Washington State with whom the car resided…

According to sources from within Ford (Ford Authority) Lincoln is hoping to launch all-electric variants of all of its vehicles no later than 2027, while also adding at least one new EV model to the lineup by that same deadline. Lincoln hopes to release three new all-electric vehicles by 2025, and a fourth by the end of 2026. This should include a Lincoln Aviator EV, which was meant to be launched in 2023 but had to be delayed until 2024. At the start of April Lincoln offered a glimpse of its new electric concept: the Lincoln Star Concept, more details of which have been recently released. This exciting new concept introduces a completely new look to the luxury brand, with a remarkable new shape, packed with exciting new features, including the…

The Classic Sports Car Club’s second race meeting of the year was held at a bright, breezy and somewhat chilly Thruxton circuit in Hampshire on Saturday and Sunday, April 23 and 24. I chose to pop along on the Saturday as there were three American race cars that grabbed my attention on the entry list. First treat was the bright red Dodge Viper of Mark East from Hungerford and Iain McBay from Kenton in Devon. Twenty years ago these Vipers were racing everywhere but I really can’t remember the last time I saw one being club raced. Mark told me: “I started racing with Iain 40 years ago but I haven’t raced for over 20 years. The kids are now moving away from home so I thought I’d do something for…