Upper Middle Petrol Head:

This lovely early 80s Escort, seen in Sandy Bay near the University of Tasmania, was so perfect it could have been straight off the showroom floor. The only visible signs of modification were its very tasteful, and era-appropriate, Superlite wheels.  Even the German flag-themed The European Formula sticker on the rear window was an original feature. This particular car is one of an ever-diminishing population of Escorts (even the revered RS2000s are getting rare) and is certainly as good as any currently gracing southern Tasmania's roads. U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) All iPhone images.

The photos above and below don't really do justice to this pretty little Alfa Romeo Berlina , seen on a far-too sunny spring afternoon in Hobart, Tasmania.     It may not have been the most pristine example but it did look good without bumpers and wearing what appeared to be Porsche 924 wheels. Berlinas have a lovely stance, featuring a largish semi-wraparound windscreen and a sleek profile that that arcs gracefully from the long bonnet through to the low, flat boot at the rear (or hood and trunk , respectively,   for American readers).  Their cabins are surprisingly high and have lots of glass but, somehow, manage not to look boxy - no mean feat for what's clearly a classic 'three-box' design!  The interior of this particular vehicle was clean and tidy, featuring a wooden sports steering wheel, tan coloured low-back seats and quintessentially Alfa instrument shells for the speedo and tacho, with a wood-grain centre console for the...

The Fanta-tastic American coupe featured in the following photos is not a Chevrolet  Camaro , even if it looks almost identical to one and shares many of its mechanicals with that car, too.  No, the vehicle shown here is a Pontiac Firebird , which is from a different branch of the General Motors family tree.  Sort of like twins that are actually cousins. To describe the car shown here as striking would be to understate its visual impact!  The flawless orange paint job is almost luminous, while the chrome, wheels and interior are all first rate. The styling is pure American muscle, with a long, vented bonnet, elegant coupe style doors and sexy haunches over the rear mudguards.  It sits low and wide.  The overall effect is somewhere between classic Coke bottle styling and an animal about to pounce on its prey. UMPH initially thought that the rear-most bulge shown in the photo above was another form of venting - one that was designe...