Unsung heroes: Chevrolet Corvair

Unsafe at any speed?

Today's unsung hero is the first American car in the series and another controversial choice. The Chevrolet Corvair is often cited as one of the worst cars of all time and ranked alongside such other disasters as the Edsel and the AMC Pacer, but was it really that bad? Yes, its reputation was ruined (unfairly as it turned out) by a best-selling book that condemned it as an inherently dangerous car, but the Corvair was actually very revolutionary for an automotive industry that had become set in its ways and reluctant to innovate, and inadvertently created a whole new market sector that was keenly exploited by other manufacturers. I think it deserves a reappraisal and here I present the case for the defence...

Is it really fair to call this one of the world's worst cars?
(By Charles01 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27794784)

Scrambling for Drive It Day

Bicester Heritage is somewhere every classic car fan really must visit. Based on the former RAF Bicester site, this unique place is a mecca for vehicle enthusiasts and aims to be the UK's first business park dedicated to classic motoring, hosting car clubs, workshops, dealers, storage facilities, driving experiences and much more. Sunday 23rd April was the national Drive It Day and one of Bicester Heritage's three annual 'Sunday Scramble' open days held in January, April and October, and being just a few miles from home it was a nice little run for the Maxi. It had been a couple of years since I last visited, and both the site and the event have grown massively since then. It has been suggested that more than 4000 tickets were sold and the majority seemed to be for exhibitors so there must have been well over a thousand cars on display.

When did you last see a Vauxhall Viceroy? This bland-looking saloon was one of the rarest cars there.

A trucking good Easter

For most people, Easter Sunday is a time of rest and relaxation. Not for me though as I headed to Jacks Hill Cafe near Towcester for their annual Vintage Truck Gathering. Having never been before, I was expecting a small event featuring a couple of dozen vehicles, but was amazed to discover around a hundred trucks in attendance, covering all eras from pre-war to the early 21st century, along with a lot of motorbikes and a handful of classic cars and light commercials. The event started at 9am and I arrived around 11 to find cars parked all along the verges and the place teeming with people and vehicles.

Trucks everywhere as a Ford Transcontinental squeezes out

Tiddly Truck is alive!

...plus more Citroening

The weekend I recently spent with Chris and Claire wasn't all about the Oltcit, but seeing that was a reward for a successful day's work in the field of dreams. You'll probably remember the Tiddly Truck and our failure to get it running on the two previous occasions, but we weren't prepared to give up on it so the main purpose of our visit was to have another go at this. I can report some good news: it may have taken three attempts and a lot of tinkering, but it is now alive and moving under its own power at last!

This is how we left the Tiddly Truck last time. Getting closer but still not running.

Oltcit oddball

I have previously mentioned my friend Chris's love of all things Citroen, and this weekend I was able to get up close and personal with what to me is the star of his collection, something so unusual in the UK I doubt many readers have ever heard of it, yet alone seen one in the flesh. Alongside several Visas, he also has a rare example of what the Visa could have been: the Oltcit, also known as the Citroen Axel. Those names probably mean nothing to you, but the Oltcit is significant as the last pure Citroen design devoid of any Peugeot influence. It wasn't even built in France though - read on to find out more about the peculiar story of this curious little car.

It could only be a Citroen design, but not one you'll recognise