Factoid: Great, great car, the Turbo R, but you do notice the car that has received that title was actually a Bentley, not a Rolls-Royce…

Factoid: Volvo had enjoyed a lot of success marketing cars that had a solid & steady image, but you’d never call them cool. The 850 with its various sporting versions changed all that & it started with the T-5…

Factoid: Divorce, memories of a 1st car, a possible reconciliation, oh, & promoting the facelifted Volvo 760 Turbo, it’s all here in this 1988 ad…

Factoid: No idea why a cartoon parrot appears here but by 1960 there was no doubting the Beetle’s success in countless countries not least in the UK where it was one of 1st imported cars to really make an impact…

Factoid: £20,000 in 1987 (or £58,366 today) could buy you not just an array of alternatives, but from a wide selection of premium & mass-market brands. A cursory glance might suggest the XJ6 (in base 3.6-litre form) walked it or rather pounced the opposition, but victory was remarkably narrow…

Factoid: 1956 was a major year for the Minor with the intro of the 1000 & an upgraded A-Series engine giving the car a much needed power boost. This car is the ‘standard’ model - one clue are the bumpers lacking over-riders. (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: One way of identifying the 1,098cc Minor 1000 was to look at the windscreen & the repositioned wipers - gd news for RHD drivers but not so great for LHD drivers as BMC didn’t bother to swap them over… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: The millionth Minor leaves the Cowley line on Jan 4th, 1961 & it’s interesting it was cheaper to buy before tax then when it was launched in 1948 - £254 vs £280 (£4,975 vs £5,485 in 2025 money). Export-wise, 48% were sold abroad & here’s were the Top 10 markets up to Nov 1960… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: Simple plastic bumpers, no bright trim - the VW 1200 was the last example (in Europe) of a basic Beetle or BMB - Base Model Beetle (a variation of the ‘classic’ BMB - Base Model Brilliance… (📸: IG a/c finecarbrochures)

Factoid: One of the great ‘sleeper’ executive expresses, this was the Merc 300 SEL 6.3, a car that took the W109 300 SEL & got the 6.3-litre V8 originally fitted to the Merc 600. One clue were the extra headlamps (optional on other W109s) & the subtle ‘6.3’ boot badge… (📸: IG a/c finecarbrochures)

Factoid: Unsurprisingly, suppliers queued up to acknowledge the millionth Minor which today serves as a reminder what firms supplied what to the ‘Moggy’…

Factoid: And that took place today, 65yrs ago. Despite the optimism of the ad, BMC nor BL after it, made the second millionth Minor…

Factoid: Rootes’ marketing for the top-model Imperial was appropriately exclusive though the owner here wouldn’t have a chance to replace it as 18mths after this ad the Imperial & other large Humbers would be gone for good…

Factoid: UK car firms saw a chance for promotion in the new motorway era like here for ‘the new ‘61 Vauxhalls’ & the fact the revised Victor got heavy-duty big-end bearings for ‘extra long life at motorway speeds’…

That should be Mark IX of course… Oh well, 1st typo of the year & it certainly won’t be the last…

Factoid: Jaguar going into the 1960’s was a range in transition with the latest Mk2 Saloons sharing space with the existing Mark X & XK 150, cars whose replacements in 1961 & one which would define sporty Jags for decades…

A particularly apt ad for the chilly start to the year & frankly an accessory package that might be useful…

Factoid: There was an R5 to match your requirements as this 1979 ad noted (which also referred to the limited edition ‘Le Car’) & soon a 5dr version arrived which gave the car an adv over many rivals at the time…

Factoid: Ford was creative with their limited edition names but they sometimes ‘adopted’ them to other models - take 1987’s Escort Bravo which was originally applied to the Fiesta in 1981. (Unlike the Fiesta, the Escort lacked two-tone paint but got Orion Ghia’s body side mouldings)… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: 50yrs ago, inflation was never far from people’s minds nor was the price of a gallon of petrol so this Audi ad is a timely reminder of those supposedly good old days. Btw, note the new bumpers the 80 & 100 - those were US spec ones & the UK unusually (& possibly uniquely) got them as well…

Factoid: While the Mini struggled to find a place on the US market, it was a different story in Canada such as in late 1960 when Austin Sevens/Morris Mini-Minors formed a large part of a shipment of over 300 BMC cars sent to Montreal. (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: No prizes for guessing this is a Triumph 1300 hubcap, this is just a nod to its cool ‘worldwide’ logo... (📸: IG a/c classicsbychance)

Factoid: Debuted at the autumn motor shows, here’s your quick reminder that 60yrs ago this month you could buy that other British FWD of the ‘60’s that wasn’t built by BMC…

Factoid: 2001 & the task to keep up demand & interest in the Rover 25 & 45 meant limited editions plus attention-getting advertising which seemed to work better on the former than the latter…

Factoid: You couldn’t get a factory RHD Mustang but tuners Rudds could supply you with a converted car from early ‘65 though if you lived in Australia Ford’s subsidiary imported & converted cars the same year…

Friday Commitment: Golf & Goffey, a winning combination & a great way to start another year of FC… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: Being in the ‘Vanguard’ of the UK’s ‘Export or Die’ postwar period meant this car in 1949 was a rare sight on British roads as this ad demonstrated in cliched (though nicely illustrated) terms…

Factoid: The cheapest 5dr Austin in 1986 was a Metro City though Austin Rover decided to spoil you with the arrival of a dipping rear view mirror & heated rear window though that generosity didn’t extend to a frankly necessary rear wash/wipe…

Factoid: So, what ‘something extra’ would add to your Minx Series IIIA? Of course, 2,4 & 5 should’ve been fitted as std but those were the days when manufacturers thought such essentials were accessories…

Factoid: A reminder of the anticipation for the SD1 with CAR Magazine’s Apr 1976 issue with a typically creative cover. The hope & support was there & the eventual car was gd but as far the build quality & reliability, well you know the rest…

Factoid: Happy New Year from Bluesky’s tedious car fact account & let’s kick off with a reminder that ‘Tomorrow. Today’ is 50yrs ago in July…

Factoid: A regular theme of British Volvo ads during the ‘80’s was the brand’s affordability & which was fertile ground for their agency as this 1986 example demonstrates…

Factoid: The Japanese ‘80’s 4x4 people forget, this Patrol was built in Spain (for the European market) & was the 1st example of Nissan building cars/vehicles in this region (as opposed to simply assembled from CKD kits)… This particular gen was the 260 itself a facelift of the 160-gen vehicle…

Factoid: 1976 & who isn’t a fan of line drawings appearing in car dealer ads though the tedious BL car nerd in me notes the Allegro & Marina here were the older, replaced models (as indeed was the Triumph 1500 TC which had been superseded by the Dolomite 1500HL the same year)…

Factoid Extra: You don’t need me to remind you of the engineering excellence of the W123, but in case you do this 1978 ad will help as you learn how they developed their cars with the help of orthopaedic surgeons & psychologists (along with those engineers of course)…

Factoid: Compared to its rather stodgy predecessor, the A55 Cambridge Mk II did look contemporary & stylish though the styling with its fins & grille dated really rather quickly which necessitated a paired back replacement & some seriously needed upgraded road manners…

Factoid: Sadly the headline used in this Austin 3-Litre ad leads to the inevitable comments of ‘run aground’, ‘all at sea’ et al regarding the car’s appalling sales performance…

Factoid: Hard not to smile reading this ad for one of the cheeriest cars of all time. Yes, 80mph isn’t very fast, but the Sprite was light & chuckable, like all the great British open sports cars…

Factoid: It was advanced looking 50yrs ago (just two years before production ended), it still looks great today. Yes, the Ro80 was a genuine car of the future, but in design not engineering… (Sent this by a mate, he knows well)…

Factoid: Just as Mazda focused on rotary engines for a time, Colt (or rather Mitsubishi) did the same for turbocharging, with a turbo variant in each model range by the early ‘80’s & a slogan to reinforce it…

Factoid: A W126 Merc 280 SWB - Base Model Brilliance at its most elegant… (📸: IG a/c finecarbrochures)

Factoid: And a quick reminder that the 2nd-gen RX7 was a particularly attractive looking sports coupé as well…

It’s Monday & after the weekend winning, it’s time for the suppliers to let readers know…

Factoid: Two identical Mk2 Mini ads, but two different cars - why? Well, the ad on the left is the earlier version featuring a Mk2 Mini that has greasing points (just in front of the rear wheels), the one on the right is a later car without them. (Greasing points were removed during 1968)

Factoid: While the Ascona B 400 won the WRC driver championship in 1982, its predecessor won the driver’s 1974 European Rally Championship & here’s your quick reminder that Walter Röhrl won both titles in the two cars…

Factoid: Not their 1st mid-engined road car, the 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer was Ferrari’s 1st mid-engined 12-cylinder road car. Maturing nicely some 52yrs later, the rare 365 version had six taillights & exhaust pipes. (1)

Factoid: In an era of exaggerated claims, the launch campaign for the Austin version of the Mini was actually on the nose (whether by accident or design)…

Factoid: An amusing idea to promote Austin’s 1959 London Motor Show display though it does once again remind us of the in-house competition btwn it & Morris who I’m sure were only delighted with this particular ad…

It’s still the weekend, it’s still the Christmas period, there’s still time to load up the Alfetta GT with your stylish matching luggage (of course) & take advantage of the break… (📸: IG a/c finecarbrochures)

Factoid: Leather upholstery was falling out of favour during the ‘60’s which was good news for materials like Ambla (& thus ICI) & later that decade some Jaguars (the 240/340 & late S-Types) used it as well…