Upper Middle Petrol Head:

I found myself in Moonah, to Hobart's north, earlier today for a visit to my regular panel beater and spray-painter.  It's not that I'm a terrible driver.  Unless you count minor scrapes in reverse, which I don't.  Reversing is manoeuvring! Anyway, there I was, heading out to Talon Bodyworks to have the consequences of some sub-optimal manoeuvring - an ugly scratch on the near-side rear guard of my otherwise immaculate GC Galant hardtop - repaired, when I happened across this great looking GD sedan.  I have seen it before but never had the opportunity to photograph it. It certainly is in good nick, with apparently original paint, straight, rust-free panels and nice chrome.  The Bathurst Globes suited it perfectly and the fat-ish exhaust hints at a 4G52 or a 4G54 Astron being under the bonnet.  I once heard the car as it drove past ; it didn't sound like a Saturn to me. As much as I love the car, it was the sticker on the rear window that really put a smile ...

This striking HQ Holden sedan - photographed at Kingston Beach, south of Hobart, Tasmania - was just magnificent!  It presented very simply: perfect paint, panels and chrome, a pristine interior, a set of tough mags and that's it.  Nothing to detract from the beauty of the HQ’s classic 1970s design.  How could it be better, really? U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) iPhone images.

This Mini Clubman  S seems to be totally original and stock-standard, yet fully-optioned, if that's not contradictory.  What do I mean by this?  It's very, very well-specced but everything on the car - with the almost certain exception of the rear louvre - appears to be a genuine Leyland accessory; the bumper-overriders, mesh headlight protectors (?), wheel-arch flares, mudflaps, gold pin-striping and sun-visor all are period-correct and were probably fitted by the original dealership.  And the whole thing's also in age-defyingly perfect condition, putting many much newer vehicles to shame!   U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) iPhone images.

More often than not, the UMPH editorial team prefers a three-quarter frontal or full frontal view as an opener but, in today's case, this combo side and rear image is the money shot!  Just look at the car's length!  How about its about-to-pounce profile?!  Wow!! If you're wondering what it is that I've lost my wheels nuts over, a discreet badge on the boot shows that it's a Mercury.  A quick squiz at Wikipedia reveals the Mercury to be a now deceased Ford line, sitting between the basic Ford name-plated vehicles and the range-topping Lincolns, introduced by Edsel Ford himself ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_(automobile)#:~:text=Mercury%20is%20a%20defunct%20division,Ford%20and%20Lincoln%20model%20lines ).   And whilst the Mercury may be no more, it was still a way more successful venture than Ford's eponymously named Edsel sub-brand, a nameplate the Wiki-boffins describe as having become "a symbol of ... commercial failure" ( https://www.google....

I covet this Galant.  How could I not?  It's straight and largely rust-free, and appears to be complete.  The perfect project and a lovely stablemate for the mighty hardtop, too.  Just don't tell Mrs UMPH!  U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) iPhone images.  

In my not quite as humble as it could be opinion, the E3 is one of BMW's most handsome cars with lovely lines, perfect proportions and lots of glass, resulting in an airy, light-filled cabin.  Just look at today's example - photographed by the Special Correspondent for the ACT - and dare to disagree!   Our subject car does hail from Canberra.  However, there is a Tasmanian link - more a segue, I suppose - to Tasmania.  In the late 1990s, motor sports identity and proprietor of the Special Vehicles Centre in Argyle Street, Hobart, Brent Willing, built one for his wife Gloria.  It was black, had a modified Commodore front spoiler, Volante-style wheels, a sports steering wheel (a Momo?), Recaro seats and - here's the kicker - a 253 cu Holden V8 motor!  It was very, very classily done; just a magnificent car. Our Bimmer du jour would appear to be less of a sleeper than Gloria's beast and, whilst I was a big fan of her car, this one also has me a bit excit...

This is Ian's 1971 Lotus Elan+2 S130.  As a +2, it's more spacious than the standard Elan, being 23 inches longer overall - with just over half that length being added to the wheelbase - 7 inches wider, and features rear seats suitable for children, although, in this case, it's actually the family West Highland terrier that occupies that space.  Lucky dog!   The S130 was the penultimate evolution of the +2, which was first introduced in 1967.  1968 saw interior upgrades, extra kit and the model designation +2S, followed by Ian's version - equipped with a big-valve head - and, finally, the S130/5 of 1972, the "/5" indicating that a five-speed gearbox had also been fitted.        Ian's car was first registered in Surrey, England, in late 1971 but I don't have any information to say when it arrived in Australia.   However, I can tell you that Ian's owned it since 1987, that blue isn't its original colour - I forget what hue it used to ...