Upper Middle Petrol Head:

Sincere thanks go to Don, owner of this imposing 1959 DeSoto FireSweep sedan, for having permitted UMPH to photograph his car whilst it was parked in Hobart's Salamanca Place on a very pleasant summer's afternoon.   According to a most helpful fact sheet provided by Don, the car: was purchased new in 1959 by Mr Bert Lohrey, a St Marys farmer and contractor; had been imported from North America in CKD (or complete knock down) kit form; and assembled by Chrysler in Adelaide, South Australia;  is fitted with a 361 cubic inch V8 motor, coupled to a push-button automatic transmission, with power-steering and brakes;  weighs in at 2.020 ton; has a recorded mileage of just 66,000 miles; and remained with the Lohrey family until 1973, when it was put into storage. It certainly was an impressive beast, featuring sweeping tail fins, rocket-styled tail lights and a lovely sloping roof line.  There are also acres of glittering chrome and an in...

It's probably hard for most people, especially those of UMPH's era, to believe that the legendary Holden Torana only had a production run of 13 years, given the impact the model had on the Australian psyche during the 1970s.  However, reference to Wikipedia (always reliable, as everyone knows!   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holden_Torana ) clearly states that manufacture began in 1967 and ended in 1980.  (There'd be a storm of protest from die-hard Aussie Holden fans if the Wiki-boffins got their Torana-facts wrong, so UMPH is happy to accept that they're correct on this occasion!)  Toranas - from the six-cylinder LJ GTR XU-1 (1972-74), through to the LX A9X (1976-78) - became hugely popular in Australia, fueled by their very successful racing programme.  In particular, Peter "Brocky" Brock, dubbed "The King of the Mountain" by his legions of fans, took the model to cult-status by virtue of his dominance of touring car racing in the 70s an...

One of the easiest  ways to personalise a car is to bung a set of decent wheels on it.  Of course, the choice of wheels is largely a matter of personal taste and there are many, many styles to choose from. However, there are some wheels that arguably suit certain cars better than others or are, for various reasons, synonymous with particular marques or models.  Take, for example, the classic Vega shown above ; it's a style that seems to be fitted almost exclusively to Alfa 105s and Spyders, although it's not unknown to see them on Fiat X1/9s, too.   A Ferrari Daytona wheel. Even without the prancing horse emblem, the classic five-spoke wheel featured above would probably be immediately identifiable to most car aficionados as being from a Ferrari.  There's no doubt it's a fine looking wheel and one that would enhance the looks of almost any car.  Or would it?  Might it look odd on, say, an Aussie Holden?  ...