Upper Middle Petrol Head:

When many people think of the JDM scene, their minds immediately go to kick-arse Skylines, early Z s, Supras and RX Mazdas, and possibly - but less commonly - anything Mitsubishi that wears  GTO badges.  Maybe it's a Fast 'n' Furious thing.   That's just one aspect of the scene and a very popular one, too.  Only focusing on machinery of that ilk does, however, ignore an equally interesting and easily more approachable segment of the Japanese car market: the bread and butter, run of the mill, daily-driver - call them what you will - lineup that helped cement Japan as a world leader in building quality, reliable cars that were often surprisingly good fun to drive. Take, for example, the humble Corolla:  your mum's, sister's or girlfriend's car; the car you learned to drive in; the car you borrowed and took to the drive-in!  Whack a set of 13" Jellybeans , Hotwires or Dragways on it and it it could've been your mate's car or, quite probably, your...

Am I imagining this or are there more and more early F-trucks and equivalent Chevvies and Dodges getting around Tasmania than ever before?  It's not uncommon to see the odd left-hooker these days, suggesting that they've been imported from State-side (the style-side Chev in the background being a case in point).  However, today's example - a fabulously patinated and rather imposing early Ford - is a right-hand drive version, so it's likely been an Aussie car all its life.   Marvin the Martian bonnet emblem.   New to Upper Middle Petrol Head?  Why not take a tour of the rest of the site?  There are cars, trucks and bikes from all over Tasmania and Australia's east coast, as well as car shows and motor sports events.  There's a search facility on the home page allowing you find whatever it might be you're looking for.  You might be surprised what you'll find! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) iPhone images.

  I'm not embarrassed that I thought that today's offering - an ultra-stylish Devaux coupe, photographed by fellow lensman Matt at the National Automobile museum in Launceston, Tasmania - was an exotic 1930s Bugatti or perhaps a pre-World War Two Alfa.  As the handy plaque below reveals, it's actually an all-Aussie creation, built of fibreglass and using contemporary running gear.  Irrespective of its origins, it's a superb looking design that's sure to turn heads!       U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photos by Matt.

Everything that I know about French cars could easily be written on the side of a pack of  Gauloise 20s, still leaving plenty of room for the obligatory health warnings.  Therefore, I've had to resort to Wikipedia to discover that the 203 - as featured here, photographed by our Canberra correspondent - was manufactured in Peugeot's Sochaux  factory between 1948 and 1960, during which period some 700,000 examples were produced.  During the period 1949 to 1955, it was the only model that Peugeot produced, although it was available in four door sedan and wagon, two door coupe and two- and four door cabriolet variants ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peugeot_203#:~:text=The%20Peugeot%20203%20is%20a,Peugeot%20between%201948%20and%201960.&text=The%20203%20was%20Peugeot's,assembly%20line%20in%20Sochaux%2C%20France ) .  I was surprised to learn that the 203 is classified as a small car, which, to my mind at least, is at odds with its large car styling, especially whe...

  How's this ripper circa-1980 Corolla station wagon?  It comes from a time when Toyota built cars, rather than the soul-less hybrid buckets of pus that they're making now.  It was straight and rust-free, with glossy paint, good chrome and a very tidy interior.  There was a nice set of 13" Hot Wires , a very tasteful 3-spoke sports steering wheel and was fitted with a five-speed 'box.  Other than those few mods - and a roof-mounted bike rack - it looked to be pretty much stock.  U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.

Don't ask me why, but this stylish old EK looked particularly at home parked by the beach.  It could've been that its unmistakably mid-1950s styling lent it an air of US surf movie fun (for the logical amongst you, the lack of roof racks and boards is noted!); it might've just been that the colour scheme was evocative of lazy summers and, in Australia, that usually equals being beachside.  Either way, it was a joy to behold! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.

  The red 1983 Series 2 X1/9 on the right has an interesting history and is a little less standard than it may first appear to be.  According to its current owner, it's an ex-Launceston car that was written-off in a front-end bingle only a short time after it was sold new.  It was then bought by a well known Hobart-based Fiat aficionado, who had plans to turn it into a rally car, but ended up rebuilding it for road use. Although the car looks quite stock, the front-end was actually re-engineered with an entirely new space frame.  All the forward panels were repaired and a new bumper was added, following the Series 1-style, but covering the full width of the nose.   A cut-down Commodore radiator was also fitted.   However, everything aft of the front windscreen remains standard, even retaining the original duco.   As a Series 2, it came standard with a 1.5 litre motor and a five speed box, both of which remain, having only amass...