Durham Classic Vehicle Show 2011

Sticking with the VW theme, this burgundy beauty also caught my eye!

okay folks, last of the VW entries ... at least for the moment!

From four wheels back to four legs ... yet another cute dog at a car show!

Note to self - when only taking a detail shot of a car DO keep a note of the make and model. Especially important when people later swap the registration over to a Ford Fiesta, which this clearly is not! UPDATE: Many thanks to Hrólfur Árnason for providing information on the model etc in question ... only the exact year still remains a mystery.

Another close-up, this time I DO know what it is!

Normally I like the Reliant Scimitar. However, when I saw this one I absolutely loved it and its not even red! You can find out more about these great cars here: www.scimitarweb.co.uk

Never used to be that keen on the MG, but I am coming around to the 'hard-topped' MGB GT model. This one was exceptionally clean too!

Between 1948 and 1976 MV Agusta won over 3000 races and 63 World Championships. My first memory of one of these fabulous bikes was when my parents bought me the ACE Motorcycle Trump Game. Not only was the MV one of the better cards to be dealt it also happened to be one of the best looking bikes I'd ever seen ... it still is!

Lovely looking Stag, very similar to SAC 20R, which I've photographed a few times in the past.

The Magnette ZA, seen in the background, cost £915 when launched in 1952 and unleashed an outcry among M.G. enthusiasts. The re-use of the glorious Magnette name on a family saloon with Wolseley bodywork, an Austin engine and a dummy radiator was not the sort of thing they had come to expect from M.G. Nonetheless, the M.G. is no Wolseley copy. In order to emphasise the sporty character of the M.G. in contrast to the sedate but luxurious Wolseley the bodwork was made two inches lower, which not only looks more sporty but assures better handling. The TC Midget on the other hand, seen in the foreground was the first postwar MG and launched in 1945. It was exported to the United States, even though only ever built in right-hand drive. The export version had slightly smaller US specification sealed-beam headlights and larger twin rear lights, as well as turn signals and chrome-plated front and rear bumpers. It only cost £527 on the home market in 1947 ... try getting one for that today!

Every time I see one of these litle cars I'm reminded of the one my Dad had in the Seventies ... great little car!

The Dodge Phoenix, produced by Chrysler Australia, was actually an Australian assembled version of the American Dodge Dart. However, unlike its American cousin it was only offered as a four-door sedan. The original sales brochure proclaimed " here is the car you will either OWN or ENVY! " and stated that it had " everything that's latest and best in motoring " before ending with the claim that " once you handle this thoroughbred you'll never be happy with anything else! ". Just a shame it was so damned ugly!

I've now seen this truck a couple of times and I love absolutely everything about it ... pure class!

How's this for Forties elegance?

Two oldtimers, a 1969 Triumph TR6 and a 1959 Sunbeam Alpine, soak up what few rays there were to be had.

How's this for a fabulous old workhorse ... over 50 years of age and still going strong!

The Vauxhall Cresta was first introduced in 1954 by Vauxhall Motors as an upmarket version of the Vauxhall Velox (itself a six-cylinder version of the Vauxhall Wyvern). The PA Cresta is probably the most well-known version. It mimicked the American fashion for giant tail fins, wrap-around windows and white-wall tyres but in a somewhat understated way compared to the Cadillac and Buick models of the time.