And here’s the car in all its coloured glory sporting in particular those fashionable for the time slimline white wheel trims…

Factoid: The Triumph 2.5 P.I. Mk2 launch ad showed the car’s attractive new lines very well though the keen-eyed will have noted this car’s badging added on after the photograph was taken…

Factoid: It’s worth remembering the Horizon’s victory was tight (just 12pts more than the Fiat Ritmo/Strada in 2nd), but arguably the most significant car was back in 9th place (& 48pts) - the Saab 99 Turbo…

Factoid: Handsome car, 2007’s Fiat Bravo, & a return of a name last seen on the car which the Bravo’s predecessor had replaced. In Australia, though, they called it the Ritmo which was an even older Fiat name revival…

Factoid: Yes, the Escort 1850 GT won the 1970 World Cup Rally & Ford won the Manufacturers Team Award all wearing Minilites & indeed so did all but three of the first 15 finishers, which begs the Q which 3 didn’t?

Factoid: While reusing a car’s central section is sometimes criticised, would you have known it when it came the Mk2 2000/2.5? Btw, this 2000 launch ad notes its ‘leather-look vinyl’, the Mk1 used the real thing…

This safety message (with suitably ominous, OTT music) is specifically for @neilmbriscoe.bsky.social… youtu.be/ADs5LszXpCo?...

Factoid: Sees clip of ‘80’s Australian soap ‘car crash’ but quickly checks car - it’s a 1st-gen Mazda 929 but looking at it you know this was headed for more than a bingle, more like a stack (I also checked my Aussie slang).. youtu.be/xho0mco5DS8?...

Factoid: The Vauxhall HB Viva was a radical change from its boxy predecessor & it proved a success on the British market where it made the Ford Anglia 105E seem v old fashioned. (Vauxhall’s display at London in 1966 featured colour rotating discs for that ‘showbiz’ motor show touch)… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: A mate gave a copy of '80s Irish car mag 'Car Driver' & look what I stumbled across - not just an Irish Rover SD3 200, but one with the-then new-style number plate & a 216 Vitesse, no less. All obscure boxes ticked here… ✅✅✅✅

Factoid: The Silver Shadow had had its London debut at the previous motor show in 1965 so Rolls-Royce had this display in 1966 which reminded visitors among other things the car was the 1st Roller with unitary construction (with a body produced at Pressed Steel Fisher’s Cowley factory)… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: In 1993 Ford promoted driver airbags as being fitted as standard for their cars (& vans) for the 1994 model year, but that wasn’t all…(1)

Factoid: Flattering lighting aside in this 1992 ad, the Rover R8 200/400 Series had a degree of class & luxury which became quite the selling point in the early ‘90s small family car sector…

Factoid: Austin Rover engineers found there was a 17% difference btwn the left hand & right hand rear wheel springing rates. Once cured, the tendency to corkscrew around corners was rectified. The mods arrived with the 216 in May 1985. (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: At launch, the SD3 200 Series had resistance from some quarters due to the fact it wasn’t seen as a Rover, but a rather more pressing issue concerned issues with the car’s handling & ride… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: Ads like this might’ve seemed clever in 2000 to MG Rover, but potential buyers weren’t convinced shown by the fact the firm’s sales were only headed in one direction…

The archetypal family car from 33 yrs ago & still looking up to the task now…

Factoid: You might Q this Jul 1992 Rover 200 Series ad noting that all 214s had the 16-valve, 1.4-litre K-Series engine & ask what about the base model 8-valve 214 S, but it had been dropped in Feb of that year… (It was later replaced by the 214i which used the 8-valve in injected form in Apr 1993)

Factoid: 1998, the MGF & the kind of ad suitable for any of the famous cars of the ‘octagon’…

Factoid: Well, what would you pick? This 1976 Ascona B ad offers a handy guide to prices of some rivals though by the time this ad appeared Ford had replaced the Cortina Mk3. Alas for BL this was the latest Marina…

Factoid: Marina Special’s rear sported ‘Flying Plughole’ badges signalling the Leyland Cars era. While the ads noted improvements, an early car would receive a bruising review in Motor… (📸:IG a/c jagalfa)

Factoid: That Marina 2 Special had that typical ‘70s touch - a vinyl roof though those wheels trims are a close 2nd. Btw, that colour is Astral Blue Metallic (one of Leyland’s mid-‘70s met shades). (📸:IG a/c jagalfa)

Factoid: An important message in this Allegro ad & relevant at a time of rising fuel prices. Alas, it was a message falling on deaf ears as production would be cut back to just 1,000 cars a week by November 1978.

Factoid: Sept 1979 & the ‘SuperVroom’ Austin Allegro 3 appeared with a thorough inside & out facelift. All models had a front air dam that BL noted improved fuel economy by 11% & reduced drag coefficient from 0.44 to 0.40, so some additional useless facts to end your week… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: The Morris Marina 2 needs no intro but here’s an example of not just some of the external changes the car got, but also a new model launched with the range… The latter was the Special which at the front got twin driving lamps, new grille & rubber-faced under-riders. (📸:IG a/c jagalfa)

Factoid: Well, he also appeared in this 1980 Fiesta ad (which makes the ‘baby’ born 45/46)… youtu.be/t3Ng-OcWH_I?...

Factoid: £300 (£1,311.69 in 2026) of free fuel was a pretty good offer in 1980 given that meant over 227 gallons of petrol* & an easy choice (well, for me anyway) over an equivalent value holiday…

I’m just wondering why it’s called ‘holiday’ myself & just how big that sponge is…

Factoid: Dare you buy foreign? BL & others used this argument (as noted in this ad) to stem the tide of imports coming into the UK in the early ‘70s. In reality, it was one that didn’t hold water as the decade progressed…

Factoid: You didn’t need to remind you May 17th is the Allegro’s 53rd birthday but did you know this particular ad was filmed in Bath at one of the city’s famous seven crescents? Apparently this is Lansdown Crescent though I’m sure @sniffpetrol.com will confirm… youtu.be/qZyb45GHlGg?...

Factoid: 25yrs ago the availability of satellite navigation on some models of the facelifted, 1st-gen, T220 Avensis was worthy of an advert…

Factoid: This C2 Audi 100 ad offers a reminder of CAR Magazine’s legendary review section ‘The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly’ which was always worth a look especially for their cutting, succinct summaries of cars…

Factoid: The C3 100 Avant established Audi’s estate car credentials with the C4 replacement building on that. This 1991 ad had a clever way of stating its case while throwing shade on one particular rival…

Factoid: Two US Triumph TV ads from 1967 (I believe) but did you know these were the 1st TV ads Standard-Triumph ran on US television & that the 1st ad features (albeit fleetingly) the 2000 (in Mark 1 form, of course) which was briefly sold in that market without success… youtu.be/onA1WlraUc0?...

Factoid: Given this wk was the Marina’s 55th birthday, here’s one of the more obscure ads BL used to promote it which judging by the cars was aimed at LHD European markets. Btw, don’t worry about not understanding it as there’s only word endlessly repeated throughout the ad… youtu.be/a5nRfdXHmWM?...

Factoid: Your regular reminder of the timeless coolness of estate cars & in this case the 305 Estate’s load bay which lacked wheel arch intrusion tks to the rear shocks being mounted horizontally under the floor, but…(1)

I think enough time has passed to remind you all of one the greatest TV car ads of all time… youtu.be/sVEWN3F-0Ac?...

Factoid: Looking to the future features a fair bit in early ‘60’s car ads such as this one for Singer even though that car’s ‘technology’, like most contemporary British RWD cars, belonged to the past…

Factoid: The Anglia’s 1st anniversary gave Ford a chance to push the range of accessories it offered for the car which among the seat covers, fog/pass lamps & radios also included windscreen washers (reminding us all just how basic cars once were)…

Factoid: A cracking trio of Audis, a cracking cover & a cracking issue overall (like LJK Setright driving an Uno 8,500 miles in the US or Rover Vitesse vs a BMW 528i). Then again, you could say that about any ‘80’s issue of CAR though luckily I can thank the-then editor, @stvcr.bsky.social on here…

Not just mirrors, ‘high-speed’ ones though it was likely such ‘sleek precision’ was going to appeal to owners of Singer Gazelles, Austin A60s & Ford Consul Classics than anything fast or even brisk…

Factoid: Interesting to note that in 2026 this person would’ve paid off their mortgage though it’s open to Q whether this newly launched 307 would be around to mark its silver anniversary…

Factoid: Timeless modernity from more than 40yrs ago. Of course it’s a Citroën (a Series 2 CX as noted by the ‘conventional’ instruments, the redesigned ‘pod’ & dashboard)… (📸: IG a/c jagalfa)

Factoid: No prizes for guessing this 4th-gen Toyota Cressida was the diesel version… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: The Mk2 Cortina Estate was launched in Feb 1967 4 mths after the saloon’s debut though it used the same launch campaign that played on the ‘More Cortina’ theme though with something of a twist.

Factoid: An intriguing Mk1 Escort ad this as not only does it feature Ronnie Corbett but it’s been filmed in Belgium & a nice diversion this afternoon… youtu.be/NXmLuPxoQ6o?...

Factoid: Yesterday, 51 yrs ago, the pilot for Starsky & Hutch was broadcast on US television (as a ‘Movie of the Week’ on ABC), & this mth Eric Morecambe was born 100yrs ago (May 14th) but how to combine the two & make it factoid-relevant? Job done tks to this link… youtu.be/WvArXSJ7ELw?...

Factoid: It’s certainly a novel approach to cleaning your 2CV (& you thought only old Land Rovers were capable of this)… Just one of a host of charming photographs in a typically charismatic brochure from 1964… (📸: IG a/c finecarbrochures)

Friday Commitment: I guess a tyre smoking, standing start at MIRA in a Ferrari (a Ferrari you tend to forget) qualifies for commitment? It does for me… (📸: Autocar)

Factoid: ‘Designed for a perfectly balanced drive’ was hardly the most stimulating of ad copy to promote the Tourer version of the Rover 75 so ignore that & feast your eyes on just a great looking estate…