Sometimes when we think of people in the Middle East, often war-torn and under nefarious regimes, we don’t think of ordinary car guys who strive for nicer things in life, like this Camaro owner in Iraq.

Very clean 2004 Honda Insight in the classifieds. I once owned a second generation but I’ve always fancied one of these.

Prepping for the second severe hail threat in five days, although the storms tomorrow evening will be later in the evening and therefore pose less of a hail risk. Apparently.

Jack Brabham offered a performance kit on both the HA and HB Vauxhall Viva. It included a second carburettor, sports exhaust, suspension mods, unique inlet manifold and wider wheels. Brabham striping completed the kit. It’s estimated only a handful survive.

2024 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko Stage III with 1500bhp. Yours for a cool $245,000.

How my truck will broadly look with the ARE MX camper shell installed in a few months.

The Fiat 850 came to the U.S. only as a sedan, coupe and spider. All had the 817cc (50ci) engine because U.S. emissions regs applied only to engines over 50ci. This allowed for a higher tune requiring premium fuel. The 1968 Special had a larger 903cc unit, but the beautiful Vignale never came here.

Why did the Kia Soul fail in the end? Kia Soul GT-Line: The Hamsters’ Last Hurrah | Review youtu.be/tkZEL9w_9q0

My friend Chris in Suffolk, England has one of the most diverse and eclectic small car collections I know. Here is his Chrysler Crossfire, essentially his daily.

My friend Chris in Suffolk, England has one of the most diverse and eclectic small car collections I know. Here is his immaculate Jaguar XJ Executive (X308).

My friend Chris in Suffolk, England has one of the most diverse and eclectic small car collections I know. Here is his (problematic) Renault Avantime.

My friend Chris in Suffolk, England has one of the most diverse and eclectic small car collections I know. Here are his immaculate Citroen 2CV and Ami 8.

Second generation Acura Integra LS liftback still doing daily service.

This Mercedes W114 /8 (so-called due to 1968 introduction) looks forlorn sitting in the bramble.

This 2005 Ford Freestar is a rare bird these days. Essentially a facelifted Windstar which ran for the final couple of years of production.

With the threat of large hail this afternoon, I’m getting prepared.

From the coverage I’ve seen at the 2026 Restoration Show at the NEC this Rover 75 P4 stands out for me. It’s an early car with the “cyclops eye” driving light mounted centrally in the grille. Rover abandoned it after three years in the wake of negative buyer feedback.

Preproduction Project Erika European and North American Ford Escorts at Dearborn. Ford President Don Petersen (who later stepped down to become CEO) was running around in the XR3 for several months early in 1981.

So I’m looking at options to replace my BMW E38. The 2011 Saab 9-5 is on the shortlist, but so is the Range Rover P38. If I go for one of those, I’m going to stick my neck out to try an acquire a Holland & Holland edition.

Two Corvette C8s in my wife’s showroom, a Z06 and a hybrid E-Ray.

Glorious Twelfth essentials: Barbour Beaufort wax jacket, tweed cap, couple of labradors, a Holland & Holland Royal Deluxe, a wicker picnic basket with a floral lining, a bottle of Famous Grouse, cucumber sandwiches, and a mid-1980s Range Rover in Warwick Green.

In the coming weeks I’ll be preparing a video about BMW’s Mini to honour the 25th anniversary on 26 April. My R50 is an early U.S. car, imports of which began in March 2002 despite originally being shown at the NAIAS in January 2001.

The Pontiac Le Mans will be up for an oil change in a few weeks, with the entire fleet due this year. These old, little four pots need coddling though.

AAT Cars in Michigan built twenty modified Chrysler PT Cruisers under a licensing agreement with LTI to resemble British taxis. All were sent to Parachute, a short-lived marketing entity in California. Many were never used and all sold off. One even made it to the U.K.

1988 Peugeot 405 Coupe built by Heuliez. It was conceived as an entry for the lucrative U.S. market, but it remained a one-off. It had asymmetric windows, being a two-piece rear on the driver’s side.

Making arrangements for the BMW and - finally - the Peugeot 505 to undergo repairs. It’s been a long time coming but I will finally be able to spend some time in the Pug.

This ‘94 Ford Probe 16v was the last car I owned while living in the U.K. European market cars all had shorter headlamp doors than those sold everywhere else to comply with European pedestrian impaling legislation.

Alfa Romeo importers in Germany requested Autodelta - specialists in creating Alfetta GTV rally cars - to create a GTV8 using the 200bhp 2.6 litre V8 from the Montreal in 1977. Some twenty were built.

It’s already meteorological spring and my Mini’s windows are frozen shut.

My 850 hasn’t been started since November, but that’s going to change this weekend.

Don’t see many of these M-body Chrysler Fifth Avenue these days. They were hugely popular in the mid-1980s.

This beautiful 1980 Sachs Prima G3 moped with only 400 miles on it and original dealer tag is in the local classifieds. Along with with HD, Triumph, Peugeot and Indian, Sachs is one of the world’s oldest motorcycle manufacturers. The engine on this particular G3 was bored out to 70cc.

Two days ago it was beautiful, sunny and 22C. Today …

Added Lasfit LED bulbs to brake, front and rear turns, reverse, licence plate, and cargo lamps to the Colorado.

70s one day, 20s the next. Such is March in Ohio. I’ll take drives like this in an opportunist fashion.

Switched out the truck’s cargo lights and high level brake light for LEDs. Shame on GM for penny pinching in the first place!

It’s due to snow tomorrow, so let’s get a maiden voyage in for 2026 while it is 22C.

A Fiat-Abarth 750GT coupe on Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles in the late 1950s.

Believe it or not, this is a standard US-spec Renault Le Car which was transformed and modified into this stunning Renault 5 Alpine (Gordini) replica by a gentleman in California.

Latest demo is this optioned up Chevrolet Equinox LT with the black package. This one has no AWD, so it uses the CVT instead of the automatic; the CVT is much better suited to this 1.5 litre turbo.

Mercedes built these RHD USPS Metris vans until 2023. Around forty thousand remain in service nationwide.

This Mercedes Maybach SL680 could be yours for a cool quarter of a million bucks. Look closely at the emblems in the hood.

Fiat X1/38 late prototype undergoing “life testing” circa 1977/78.

I seriously dilly dallied over buying this Land Rover Freelander SE3. Situated in northern Illinois, I couldn’t trust it to make the eight-hour drive home! I’d love to have one though, especially one in yellow.

Very interesting 1982 Ford Escort base with only 47K miles. A-frame headrests were optional but standard from 1983. The distinguishing feature from the L trim was the use of black wheel caps as opposed to silver. Side repeaters wouldn’t become standard until 1986, shortly before the mk4 facelift.

Serious truck vibes.

Wonderful custom 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham estate wagon with the LT1 engine.

Photo found on Facebook: on 1988/89 registration plates, these mk4 Ford Escorts and mk2 Ford Fiestas are very late examples of both before the facelift mk4 cars and mk3 BE13s debuted respectively.

Almost TBT: on vacation in Zakynthos, Greece in 1996 in a rented Renault Twingo.

The Ram Promaster City was axed when the second-gen Fiat Doblo production ended; it’s back for 2027 based on the larger Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert, Opel Vivaro, Toyota ProAce and Citroen Dispatch. The sole engine will be a non-hybrid version of the new Cherokee’s 1.6 litre turbo developing 166bhp.