Upper Middle Petrol Head:

  Today's offering - a gorgeous XP Falcon ute - comes from the newly expanded UMPH Canberra Bureau.  Welcome to the team, CACTus! U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) Photo by Angus.

This lovely Fairmont  Ghia -  photographed in the Tamar wine region, just west of Launceston, Tasmania - appears to be the rarer and more desirable ESP, as it features the Scheel sports seats that were available as part of that model designation.   ESP stands for European Sports Pack, which, according to Wikipedia ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Falcon_(XE) , accessed 31 MAR 21), carried the internal Ford code "Option 54." Probably the best source of info on the ESPs is Which Car's buyers' guide ( https://www.tradeuniquecars.com.au/buyers-guide/1908/1980-1984-ford-falcon-esp-xd-xe-buyers-guide , accessed 31 MAR 21), as it lists all the engine / transmission combinations and features available on these cars, not the least of them being 5.8 and 4.9 litre V8s or fuel injected 4.1 litre straight six donks, four wheel discs,  a slightly lowered stance,  Bilstein shockies, and heavier-duty coils and anti-sway bars. The same article also suggests that there's...

This Chevrolet Impala is a whole lotta car, with a huge, classically American-style body and a 327 cubic inch V8.  It's probably not enormous by US standards but, compared to, say, a Holden Statesman (one's conveniently parked alongside) or a Ford Fairlane or an LTD, it is big!   Being as it is a real-steel mobile, made in the glory days before fuel economy was a thing, it's unlikely to be exactly light weight, either.  Which brings me to its exotic braking system ... :  four-wheel drums!  Just as well it's a cruiser, 'coz, sizeable as they are, I can't see those brakes being real effective after too many hard and prolonged applications at speed! But as a cruiser, it's got everything going for it:  style, presence and a wonderfully patinated clear-coat-over-metal finish that gives it a slightly rat-rod-ish appeal.  Just the vehicle for a day trip down the Tamar with a few mates!  U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) iPhone ...