Happy New Year to you all! I trust that all your resolutions have already been broken in the best possible tradition. I gave up making them years ago, figuring that it was best to not bother; although bizarrely the one to stop consuming fizzy drinks seems to have held. One resolution I think a lot of car owners could make is to be more fastidious when it comes to regular maintenance. For most classic car owners, frequent mechanical tinkering is second nature. However, it’s certainly not the case for a growing generation of petrol heads, raised on a diet of uber reliable Japanese hatchbacks that have no water temperature gauge and the concepts of manual chokes and grease nipples are completely alien.
This is a concern as we become ever more reliant on newer cars, warranties and breakdown crews to get us out of trouble, where as with a little mechanical sympathy our cars would last longer, run more efficiently and be more reliable.
And don’t get me started on how modern safety aids such as traction control and anti-lock brakes are making us more complacent drivers. The disciplines of cadence braking and progressive throttle control are fading into obscurity as younger generations of drivers become almost totally reliant on these electronic equivalents of ‘Get out Jail Free’ cards.
I consider myself lucky to have just scraped into a generation of car owners who started their driving careers in cars that had manual choke, tappets and carburettors. I may not remember cross-plies, but I appreciate the idea of not revving an engine when cold, regular fluid level checks and adhering to service schedules. Consequently, most of my cars have proven to be unflappable despite being used extensively and driven – how shall we put it? – enthusiastically.
MORE FEEDBACK
So it had to happen: as soon as we took the light commercials out of the centre, as we did last month with Classic Car World, so we got some complaints about the fact that the magazine no longer contains features about vans and pickups! So my next thought is to have a small section from next month which contains some stuff about commercials and, for any of you who crave more, may I recommend our swish combo deal where you can subscribe to Classic Car World and Classic Van & Pickup for the princely sum of £60 for the year or £15 per quarter. Call our lovely ladies on the front desk on 01959 541444 and they’ll gladly take your order; or for you techy types visit www.great-cars.co.uk and click on Special Offers on the left hand side.
I hope you enjoy this month’s Classic Car World – see you again next time: our March 2010 issue hits the shelves on Friday 12th February.

Merry Christmas!
Phil Weeden, Editorial Director