Engine Punk

Also known as the Batmobile, the Impaler polarises opinion. Most people "get it", but a minority hated it. This just serves to prove that even in the 21st century there are a few people still without a sense of humour. Without the Imp behind it you could be forgiven for thinking the Impaler is mahoosive The Impale r - also for obvious reasons known as the Batmobile -  was owned a few years ago by the likeable Hughes family from East Lancashire. They bought as a running car but there was a lot wrong with it when they got it. The engine was sealed into the bodywork so inaccessible for maintenance. Fortunately, Paul runs a drag racing V8 Imp (more of that another time maybe) and by the time this car graced the scene at the 2011 Imp National Rally in Bangor, North Wales, it was quite useable - if not entirely practical. Next time I'll get a less cluttered background but at least you can see how small it is Apart for the walling up of the engine, whoever created ...

This could only be a French car This is a car that I don't fit. I sat in a Mehari years ago one and was struck by the lack of foot and legroom. Why this was so I don't know. I've never had this trouble with 2CVs. Look at those little corrugations The Mehari is a sub-culture car within 2CV circles and is made of unrusting Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene panels (or ABS to you) that unfortunately are supported by a metal frame and a standard 2CV chassis. Replace the rotting chassis with a galvanised one (as so many 2CVs sport these days) and galvanise the body frame as well and you have sustainable fun motoring. To look at, the Mehari couldn't be anything other than French. That either puts you off or makes it highly desirable. It's not a world car designed by committee even though it's a fast running dromedary (a kind of camel designed by just one person) that gives the Mehari its name. This car has national identity. It's so redolent of the s...

By way of a break from Impish little cars, here's something from the other extreme of Chrysler's automobile range, the 1970 Chrysler 300. A car this size has presence. It turned up at the Launceston show The Chrysler 300 non-letter cars traded on the performance image of Chrysler's letter series 300s. These started in 1955 with the C-300 and finished up with the 1965 300L but the less sporty 300 non-letter range sidled up to join the letter range 300s in 1962 and promptly outsold it. Being cheaper helped in the sales war but I can't help thinking that some people may have bought a 300 by mistake when they really thought they were getting a 300H. Enthusiasts claim that the new non-letter 300devalued the 300H and marked the latter out as a specialist performance automobile. I say, what's wrong with that? But the marketing men seem to have known what they were doing, I'm sorry to say. Sales of the lower-spec 300 non-letter cars were always greater and...