What is it with guys and cars? I mean, I don't even drive!
Boys Will Be Boys...
There are some things you kinda can't avoid when you are a bloke, a love of beer, food, sports and...Cars!
OK, so that's a bit of a cliched statement but in the fine tradition of there being no smoke without fire, even I have a bit of a secret like for automobiles. That said, it's not every car (or truck) and I'm definitely not into modern high performance sports cars or 'super cars' or even F1 but - as usual with me - I have a bit of a nostalgic bent to my love of a subject.
What I Watch To Get My Car Fix!
Among my myriad of channels that I subscribe to on YouTube I have a small regular 'watches' about motor vehicles, here's a little list of what gives me a buzz...
1. Junkyard Digs - Getting a 70s Luxury Lincoln Running Again!
This channel is sort of a BIG variation of the antique toy restoration videos that I like to watch! 😄
The team specialised in classic American 'Barn Finds' and part of the fun of these is whether or not they can actually get the abandoned - and rusting - vehicles working again so that they can drive their prize back to their base.
To be honest, a lot of what Kevin and his long suffering side-kick 'Mook' do is way, way above my head BUT is none-the-less fascinating. Each new find presents them with a new challenge but they always seem to get things running by the skin of their teeth. This episode, however, is more 'Land Yacht Porn' really and I just loved watching this 70s behemoth running again...
2. Ed's Auto Reviews - Lincoln Continental Mk. III
This channel is actually on my 'Top 10' all time Youtube favourites. Ed's laid back Dutch patter is very chilled out BUT also very informative about motoring history.
In particular, Ed has some splendid videos on the evolution of the American car market from WW2 to the 1980s which is very much up my street. His episodes covering the classic American Muscle Cars and Land Yachts are excellent, and this episode complements the previous video nicely...
The Cars I Like...
Now, it's because I am not a huge petrol head that the above automotive channels are the only ones that I regularly watch. Other than these I have a pick and mix attitude to the car videos I watch, concentrating mainly on videos about the cars that i have a particular fondness for.
So, here's a few videos that give you an idea of the kind of automobiles I am a big fan of...
1. I Love Britols ('Oh, Matron!) 😄
Who, I hear you say! Bristol is my Number 1 favourite car company - sadly defunct since 2020 - for a number of quirky reasons.
When people think of a 'British car company' they will usually start with Rolls Royce, Jaguar and Aston Martin. They might throw in Daimler and - perhaps - MG, but they will usually overlook mainstream 'peoples's car' makers like Vauxhall, Morris, Hillman, etc, unless they are real nostalgia freak.
Brits tend to be proud of cars that stand out as fine examples of 'the British way' of doing things, craft designs and luxury designs who's reputation has spread internationally. In a way, it highlights that in every Brit there is a little bit of the snob... It's about exclusivity and conservative qualities, and no car marque invokes these more than Bristol. The very fact that most have never hear of it says 'job done'.
I love them...
2. A British Muscle Car? Say What?
Now, I am a lover of Muscle Cars and movies like 'Bullit' and 'Vanishing Point' which highlighted the American stonkingly noisy big V8s of the 1960s and 70s. But, what a lot of people tend to think - mainly Americans - is that the term Muscle Car is just reserved to gas guzzling power houses on wheels that were made in the U. S of A! Not true...
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| Better than a Mustang? The 1977 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. |
Say that there were BRITISH muscle cars and you are likely to get a funny look (again, mainly from Americans) but there were in fact a few, and I am a fan of them. The niche world of Brit muscle cars is a quietly - and small - community of people with a love for cars that are muscles cars with a very British flavour to them.
Rather that the brashness of their star spangles cousins, Union Jack muscle cars exude an air of understated refinement that is a mix of high octane adrenaline with tea drinking!
I have several Brit muscle car favourites, but here's my top pick, the Jenson Interceptor...
3. Honey, We Shrunk The Cars...
I never ended up learning to drive. This puts me in a very small minority these days, but growing up in the 1960s and 70s it didn't seem to be top of my list of 'must dos' and because I never had a job that demanded that I drive I just sort of never got round to it. So it's kinda funny that as a kid and teenager I was fascinated my to cars, my enthusiasm just never carried over into adulthood.
In my middle age - however - I have surcommed to the nostalgia of classic moto vehicles, especially toy vehicles from my childhood. Matchbox, Dinkey and Corgi were all extremely popular for kids back in the day, and I had a big collection of diecast cars.
So, these days, I enjoy nothing more that looking back at cars of yesteryear and I particularly enjoy watching videos of vintage toy car restorations...
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