Car Shows - And Finishing the Next Book

It's strange how quickly life gets back to normal. I've got three new books on the go; the first is a pictorial history of standard and Triumph cars from 1945 to the end of production with the Acclaim - which wasn't really a Triumph, but a re-badged Honda built in the old Morris factory in Oxford. This one is due to the publisher in October, so a bit of an effort needed to finish the words, sort the pictures and write the captions. Now finished and being proof-read by my trusty and extremely pedantic proof reader and might even be sent to the publisher ahead of time.

It is already available on Amazon for pre-order and as we get closer to publication, I'll be able to offer a limited number of signed copies.

The other two books are a new history of Triumph's small saloon cars; everything from the 1300 to the Dolomite. This will be in the same series as the Triumph 2000 book that was published in 2016. There is a lot to do for this book (in other words, I've not actually done much more than the skeleton!), but nothing like a looming deadline to encourage a bit of work to be done. And finally, the third book is a study of the buses and coaches built by Guy Motors.

Writing the books is an excuse - if one was ever needed - to drop in on a few classic car shows. Last Sunday was no exception as there was a show held at Breamore House on the edge of the New Forest. Here's a few of my favourites:

An Avon Standard Special Tourer

Not often that you see a Marina at a show, especially an early one and in such good condition as this. Despite all the mocking, it was a car that sold in high numbers when new and despite not being the class leader in terms of , well, anything, they are not that bad to drive. And the stories of them not going round corners is not true as the problems were addressed at a very early stage of production.

Citroen DS Pallas. Originally dating from 1955 when we thought a Morris Oxford or Standard Vanguard was the height of sophistication, these must have seemed more like a car from the future rather than a new product from France. Fiendishly complicated and quirky - just like a proper Citroen should be.

The car pictures and many others can be seen at my gallery: http://kevinwarrington.zenfolio.com/